Friday, March 19, 2010

Sugar Cookies




There are essentially two main types of sugar cookies: Rolled or scooped. I personally do not like recipes that involve rolling out a sugar cookie. There are all these requirements of having to chill the dough, flouring a surface, having it be a certain thickness, having cookie cutters, etc. The list goes on and on. Not to mention that you have a huge mess to clean up afterwards. Who really has the time to do all the complicated steps of a rolled sugar cookie? That is exactly why I love the scooped sugar cookie. It's quick and easy (less messy too). Just like a chocolate chip cookie, I desire that chew, height and, especially for a sugar cookie, a great vanilla flavor. Over the years I have always stuck to one of my personal recipes for sugar cookies but recently I found a new recipe for sugar cookies at a different blog named Delish. Curious about how they would come out, I decided to make them and compare them to my recipe. *Keep in mind that this is a TEST recipe.

Soft Sugar Cookies
2 cups granulated sugar*
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
14 Tbsp (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Spread 1/2 cup of the sugar* in a shallow dish for coating and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

Beat the butter and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl & beaters as needed.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Give the dough a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure dough is combined.

Line large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using wet palms, roll 2 Tablespoons of dough at a time into balls, then roll in sugar to coat. Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Flatten cookies with the buttered bottom of a drinking glass, then sprinkle and remaining sugar over flattened tops.

Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Allow cookies to cook on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

* If you have vanilla sugar, substitute 1/2 cup for vanilla sugar for rolling cookies

Makes 2 dozen cookies

This sugar cookie is one that I will not stick to. While making these cookies I actually made a mistake. Since I usually know the steps in making cookies I immediately added ALL the sugar to the butter and creamed them together. It was not until after I creamed them together that I saw you had to RESERVE 1/2 a cup of the sugar. BIG MISTAKE!! Well, to make up for it, I did add a bit more butter and flour. The outcome was something not that great. It wasn't as chewy as my recipe. There was a chew around the edges but the center was very "cake-like" but it still had a nice flavor. I'm sorry but when I want a cookie, I don't want it to have a texture of cake. I expected something totally different. Feel free to try out this recipe and tell me your thoughts on it. As for me, I'm sticking to my original recipe.

Sugar Cookies on Foodista
-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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-Aaron John

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