Robin's Perfect Sugar Cookie Recipe -- perfect for decorating!
After testing well over two dozen sugar cookie recipes, this is my all-time favorite! You do NOT chill the dough before rolling, they taste wonderful, and you can freeze the dough and the finished cookies (if you top them with Royal Icing ... and thaw them correctly). What's not to like?
Recipe:
4 sticks (salted) premium quality butter (softened to room temp) ) TIP: choose quality butter; cheaper butter has a higher water content which will cause you to be frustrated!
2 eggs (I use organic, free-range eggs) ) TIP: A large egg (out of its shell) should weigh 50 grams. Check yours. Since Covid, weights are inconsistent)
2 tsp UNCOLORED (clear) vanilla extract )
2 cups sugar (384 gams) ) TIP: If you overmix aka/"fluff" too much, your cookies will expand (puff) and LOSE that perfect cookie cutter shape!
1 tsp (clear) almond extract
768 grams (6 cups) of good quality all-purpose flour
NO LEAVENING (trust me)
Put it Together!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Measure your flour (using a baking scale) and set aside.
Cream the sugar and butter (but don't fluff it too much; resist the urge! You've been warned, lol). Add the egg and extracts and combine (again, don't make it super fluffy, like you would when mixing other cookies). Why don't you want to fluff this mixture up? Because you are using cookie cutters and we don't want "fluff" and lightness because those are what distort beautiful, perfect cookie shapes into blobs that barely resemble the precise cut we started with. You've seen the people on social media complaining about how their baked cookies don't look like the cookie cutters, right? Well, this is the #1 reason.
Gradually add the flour/baking powdered mixture and beat until combined (but scrape to ensure the dry bits at the bottom are incorporated). Now, stop.
Prepare two large sheets of parchment paper, and scoop half of your dough onto one of the sheets of parchment and then top it with the other. You now have your dough between the two parchment sheets and you can press it relatively flat and then roll it out to your desired thickness. I roll the cookies I will be decorating quite thick (3/8") for durability, and decorating quality. Now, put these rolled dough slabs into the freezer (on a cookie sheet) for about five minutes.
Notice something WONDERFUL about my technique? No flour on the counter. No stick counter tops. No sticky roller pin. Quick clean up! TIP: My rolling 'guides' are super fancy. I bought a Lowes yardstick, had my hubby saw it precisely in half making two 1.5' sticks) and then I adhered grippy sticky tabs to them. They grip the counter. They're cheap and they make a perfect 3/8" cookie. Just use the short yardsticks as guides to the left and right of the cookie dough as you roll, keeping your roller on the guides. Voila. Hillbilly Rolling guides. You're welcome.
Pull the cool slab of rolled dough out of the freezer and cut into shapes. Use a pie plate with flour to "dust" your cookie cutters before EVERY cut. If you're using plastic (aka made with a 3D printer) cutters, use ordinary nonstick spray. Place each cut cookie shape onto a COOL cookie sheet LINED WITH A SILICONE BAKING SHEET (I love these) and when the sheet is full, place back into the freezer for five (5) minutes.
Pull out of the freezer and place into 350 degree oven immediately. Bake as follows: Large cookies = 12 minutes; medium cookies = 11 minutes; small cookies = 10 minutes. That works for MY oven with my thick cut cookies. Experiment to see what time works best in your oven. NOTE: you will likely think the cookie is underdone when it is perfect. If you see browned edges, they are probably overcooked. They will be a little underbaked when you take them out. LEAVE THEM ON THE COOKIE SHEET for another 3 to 5 minutes. Then, carefully remove them from the sheet and transfer them to a non-stick cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before decorating.
Now, express yourself and decorate to your heart's content! Click here for my Magical Royal Icing Recipe
FREEZING TIP: To freeze, layer cookies (carefully) between parchment or waxed paper and place in an airtight freezer-safe container. Don't layer too many cookies if you wish to avoid any damage. Freeze. To Thaw: Remove from freezer, and take cookies out of the air-tight container and thaw at room temperature (on a plate, or rack). Avoid humidity and condensation (that means no thawing in the refrigerator!), and the cookies will be just like the day you put them into the freezer!
Recipe:
4 sticks (salted) premium quality butter (softened to room temp) ) TIP: choose quality butter; cheaper butter has a higher water content which will cause you to be frustrated!
2 eggs (I use organic, free-range eggs) ) TIP: A large egg (out of its shell) should weigh 50 grams. Check yours. Since Covid, weights are inconsistent)
2 tsp UNCOLORED (clear) vanilla extract )
2 cups sugar (384 gams) ) TIP: If you overmix aka/"fluff" too much, your cookies will expand (puff) and LOSE that perfect cookie cutter shape!
1 tsp (clear) almond extract
768 grams (6 cups) of good quality all-purpose flour
NO LEAVENING (trust me)
Put it Together!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Measure your flour (using a baking scale) and set aside.
Cream the sugar and butter (but don't fluff it too much; resist the urge! You've been warned, lol). Add the egg and extracts and combine (again, don't make it super fluffy, like you would when mixing other cookies). Why don't you want to fluff this mixture up? Because you are using cookie cutters and we don't want "fluff" and lightness because those are what distort beautiful, perfect cookie shapes into blobs that barely resemble the precise cut we started with. You've seen the people on social media complaining about how their baked cookies don't look like the cookie cutters, right? Well, this is the #1 reason.
Gradually add the flour/baking powdered mixture and beat until combined (but scrape to ensure the dry bits at the bottom are incorporated). Now, stop.
Prepare two large sheets of parchment paper, and scoop half of your dough onto one of the sheets of parchment and then top it with the other. You now have your dough between the two parchment sheets and you can press it relatively flat and then roll it out to your desired thickness. I roll the cookies I will be decorating quite thick (3/8") for durability, and decorating quality. Now, put these rolled dough slabs into the freezer (on a cookie sheet) for about five minutes.
Notice something WONDERFUL about my technique? No flour on the counter. No stick counter tops. No sticky roller pin. Quick clean up! TIP: My rolling 'guides' are super fancy. I bought a Lowes yardstick, had my hubby saw it precisely in half making two 1.5' sticks) and then I adhered grippy sticky tabs to them. They grip the counter. They're cheap and they make a perfect 3/8" cookie. Just use the short yardsticks as guides to the left and right of the cookie dough as you roll, keeping your roller on the guides. Voila. Hillbilly Rolling guides. You're welcome.
Pull the cool slab of rolled dough out of the freezer and cut into shapes. Use a pie plate with flour to "dust" your cookie cutters before EVERY cut. If you're using plastic (aka made with a 3D printer) cutters, use ordinary nonstick spray. Place each cut cookie shape onto a COOL cookie sheet LINED WITH A SILICONE BAKING SHEET (I love these) and when the sheet is full, place back into the freezer for five (5) minutes.
Pull out of the freezer and place into 350 degree oven immediately. Bake as follows: Large cookies = 12 minutes; medium cookies = 11 minutes; small cookies = 10 minutes. That works for MY oven with my thick cut cookies. Experiment to see what time works best in your oven. NOTE: you will likely think the cookie is underdone when it is perfect. If you see browned edges, they are probably overcooked. They will be a little underbaked when you take them out. LEAVE THEM ON THE COOKIE SHEET for another 3 to 5 minutes. Then, carefully remove them from the sheet and transfer them to a non-stick cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before decorating.
Now, express yourself and decorate to your heart's content! Click here for my Magical Royal Icing Recipe
FREEZING TIP: To freeze, layer cookies (carefully) between parchment or waxed paper and place in an airtight freezer-safe container. Don't layer too many cookies if you wish to avoid any damage. Freeze. To Thaw: Remove from freezer, and take cookies out of the air-tight container and thaw at room temperature (on a plate, or rack). Avoid humidity and condensation (that means no thawing in the refrigerator!), and the cookies will be just like the day you put them into the freezer!
