The Best Sugar Cookie
www.twosisterscrafting.com
When Nancy and I were little, our favorite time of the year was Christmas (okay, it still is). Our mom would begin baking two weeks before Christmas to make sure she got everything done. One of the first things she would make was sugar cookies. We would sit around the table, listen to Christmas Carols, and frost cookies. Nancy and I have continued that tradition. We have gone through many different recipes. Some didn’t taste good, but held their shape. Some were delicious, but spread so much you couldn’t tell what it was. We finally found the best sugar cookie recipe. It’s delicious and keeps the shape of whatever cookie cutter you use. Sugar cookies used to be Christmas only for us, and now we use them all year long.
Add the 4 sticks (2 cups) of butter and 2 cups of white sugar to your mixer. A word about the butter, we use Sweet Cream Salted Butter when we are baking and I think it tastes great with these sugar cookies too. The butter needs to be softened but still cold. A prime culprit for dry sugar cookie dough is butter than is too warm and soft. I let the butter sit out on the counter for just under an hour before I start making the cookies – this seems to be the perfect amount of time for me. The butter is still cold to the touch but you can press into the stick with your fingers. In the past, when in a rush, I have softened the butter in the microwave but inevitably the dough that I get is on the “crumbly” side. Cream the butter and sugar until it is completely mixed.
Do not over-mix. Add 2 tablespoons of vanilla and 2 eggs.. I know that sounds like a lot of vanilla but this recipe needs a little extra moisture and the cookies will taste great. Mix the cookie dough until light and fluffy. Add 4 teaspoons of Baking Powder and mix. Then mix in the 6 cups of flour two cups at a time.
This is what the dough should look like after you have added the 6 cups of Flour. The flour should be completely incorporated and the dough should be firm but not dry or crumbly. If the dough seems drier than this, add a tiny bit of vanilla or milk and mix again. You do not need to chill this dough before cutting out the cookies. In fact, the cookies come out best if the dough hasn’t been chilled.
Roll a handful of the dough out on a prepared surface until it’s about 3/8? thick. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes depending on the size of the cookie. Do not over-bake! We like thicker sugar cookies so they will hold a good amount of frosting. If you make your cookies on the thick side like we have done in the pictures here, you should cook them 7-8 minutes but no longer. They might not look done to you but they are.
Take them out of the oven. You don’t want them to start browning around the edges the way you would with Chocolate Chip Cookies for example. Over-baking is the prime culprit if you feel your sugar cookies seem dry. If you roll out thinner cookies, or use smaller cookie cutters than the ones we have used here, you should only bake the cookies 6 or 7 minutes.
This recipe will make quite a bit of cookies but the actual number depends on the size of the cookie cutters you are using. Using these large-ish cookie cutters, we made 36 cookies. If you only need a couple dozen cookies, you can cut this recipe in half.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups Sweet Cream Salted Butter (softened)
- 2 cups Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 2 tbsp. Vanilla
- 4 tsp. Baking Powder
- 6 cups Flour
- Add butter and sugar to your mixer. Cream the butter and sugar until it is completely mixed. Do not over-mix.
- Add vanilla and eggs and mix until completely incorporated.
- Add Baking Powder and mix.
- Mix in the flour two cups at a time.
- Do not chill the dough, the cookies will bake better if the dough is at room temperature.
- Roll a handful of the dough out on a prepared surface until it's about 3/8" thick and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes depending on the size of the cookie. Do not over-bake.
- Frost with The Best Buttercream Frosting