I recently came across the greatest sugar cookie recipe I believe I have ever had the good pleasure of making.
When it comes to cookies, I am all about simplicity. I don’t like long ingredient lists or special ingredients that I don’t already have in the pantry. If I can throw it together quick, all the better for me and everyone in my house 🙂
This recipe yields a nice chewy cookie with a snap of a crunch on the outside without being “crisp”. However, if you leave them just a minute or so too long in the oven, they will be overly crisp and not very good.
Let’s just say I learn from my mistakes…
Here is what you’ll need:
- About 3 cups of flour
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 and 1/4 cups softened soft butter
- 2 cups of sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. This is always the preface to a recipe, but with cookies, it can be of the utmost importance. If your oven hasn’t reached the right temperature when you put the cookies in, the bake time will be off and you won’t get the result you’re looking for.
Next, add your dry ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well to incorporate everything. In another bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until you have a nice fluffy consistency. Then beat in one egg at a time, making sure the first is completely mixed in before adding the next. Once those are nicely mixed, add the vanilla and mix again.
Gradually add your dry ingredients to this mixture, making sure to incorporate everything well before adding more. You might need the entire 3 cups and you might not. You don’t want your cookie dough to be too thin, but you also don’t want it too thick. Once it becomes hard to mix with a spoon, you have your desired consistency.
Wrap the dough in some plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes. You can refrigerate it for longer if you want, it certainly won’t hurt it. But don’t take it out before the half hour is up, as you want it chilled enough to be easy to work with.
Using an ice cream scoop or a regular spoon, make walnut sized balls, rolling them in sugar before transferring them to your greased cookie sheet. For snickerdoodles, roll them in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar, or use colored sugars or sprinkles for a festive look. Flatten them slightly and bake for about 8 minutes. Remove them from the cookie sheet and place on racks to cool before serving.
This is a great cookie base for decorating, especially if you plan on using shaped cookie cutters, which can easily be done. Just roll the dough out to about a quarter of an inch thick before cutting, instead of rolling the dough into balls.
Good luck! If you happen to make these, make sure you stop by and let me know how they turned out. I know my family loved them.
All Out War! 