Description
"The New Family Cookbook" by America's Test Kitchen created a memorable sugar cookie. This is one you cookie recipe you can really sink your teeth into.
This is a fast to fix sugar cookie recipe. You won't have to chill the dough before baking. Expect to take less than an hour to make up a batch of 24 cookies (if you use a 2 Tablespoon cookie dough scoop, mine is a 1 1/2 Tablespoon scoop).
Rolling each dough ball in the sugar is the most time-consuming part of it. Throw some music on or a podcast, and enjoy the process.
You can freeze the raw cookies for up to one month. Bake the frozen cookies in a 350* oven for 17 to 22 minutes or until the edges are set and the cookies are lightly browned.
I find it helpful to bake up a test cookie when I'm trying a new recipe. Then you can adjust the time as necessary.
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 2 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour (11 1/4 Ounces)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 Cups Sugar (10 1/2 Ounces)
- 2 Ounces Cream Cheese (Cut into 8 Chunks)
- 6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter (Melted and Warm, But Not Hot (I used Salted Butter))
- 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Tablespoon Whole Milk
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Before Baking the Sugar Cookies, You'll Roll the Dough Balls In:
- 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350*. Ovens take longer to heat than you'd think.
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Put the 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar and the cream cheese in a large bowl and whisk in the warm melted butter. You will have a few lumps of cream cheese, but for the most part, it dissolves into the mixture.
- Whisk in the large egg, the milk, and the vanilla extract until the mixture is combined and smooth.
- Fold in the dry ingredient mixture (the flour mixture) using a rubber spatula until the cookie dough combines to form a soft, combined dough.
- Put the 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a shallow bowl for rolling the cookie dough balls (I use something similar to a pasta bowl because it has raised edges and offers a large flat space).
- Roll the dough balls one at a time (I know, I tried more than one, but you have to go with one dough ball at a time), scoop out cookie dough into a ball and roll it into the white sugar.
- Set the cookie dough balls 2" apart on the baking sheets. If you put the cookies too close, you will end up with connecting mutant cookies. You don't want that.
- Grease the bottom of a dry measuring cup with Pam for Baking with Flour or Baker's Joy and gently flatten each dough ball so they are 3" in diameter. If you use a different size cookie dough disher, then adjust accordingly (a smaller scoop, such as mine, meant I flattened my 1 1/2" cookie dough balls into a 2.5" diameter.
- Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of sugar from the 1/3 cup over the flattened cookies. I also used coarse raw sugar on a few cookies to add a little glittery shine.
- Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 11 to 13 minutes, turning the cookie sheet around halfway through the baking cycle. Cookies will begin to brown and the edges will be set when they are done.
Always set your timer for slightly less than the lowest time in the range "just in case." - Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then move the baked cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Store in a covered reusable container when they are completely cooled.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Cuisine: American