Raise your hand if you’ve ever had your kids ask you to decorate sugar cookies, and you said no because it was too much work to make sugar cookies. I’m actually not raising my hand because I don’t have kids, but I’ve seen this play out with my niece and nephew. Sugar cookies are a favorite but sometimes rolling them out is too much work.
For my collection of cookies to make with a cookie scoop, I knew I had to have a sugar cookie. Traditional sugar cookies are made with baking powder, which makes them puff UP in the oven, and therefore a are rolled with a rolling pin so they will bake out thin and flat. I needed a cookie dough that could be scooped and would expand outward into a flat circle. Oh, and taste like the vanilla sugar cookies my mom has been making since before I was born. It was a tall order.
I looked around for ideas, and many either didn’t work or didn’t taste like sugar cookies at all. I even invented a couple of other cookies in the process, which I am excited to share with you in the coming weeks. The cookies below are perfect if someone wants to whip up some sugar cookies. The dough does not require chilling. Instead of baking powder, the dough uses baking soda and distilled vinegar to expand outward when baked. This creates a medium-thick, flat circle. Don’t be tempted to skip the vinegar – it leaves no taste, and the baking soda needs it to activate. I have included my basic frosting recipe, but of course it’s totally optional.
Ingredients:
1 and 2/3 cups (8.3 oz) all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
2/3 cup +1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
Frosting:
¼ cup (1/2 stick) salted butter, melted and cooled
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Sift flour and baking soda together in a medium bowl; set aside. Place softened butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Turn off mixer and scrape the bottom and sides of bowl with a rubber spatula, add egg and vinegar, and mix for on medium-high for 2 more minutes. Turn the mixer speed to low and add flour mixture one large spoonful at a time until fully incorporated. Turn off mixer, scrape the bottom of and sides again with a rubber spatula, and then mix on high speed for 15 seconds.
Line a metal cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop, put 9 scoops of dough on cookie sheet, evenly spaced apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are starting to brown. Remove from oven and transfer parchment paper to a wire cooling rack. When cookies are fully cooled, peel them from the parchment paper and transfer them to an airtight container. Repeat with a second sheet of cookies.
When ready to frost, put ½ stick salted butter in a small microwave-safe bowl, preferably one made of glass. Melt butter, and wait until it is fully cooled, about 10 minutes. It should be starting to harden back up at this point. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and milk to the bowl, and stir until all lumps of powdered sugar are gone and frosting is smooth. Add more milk to thin if necessary. Spread frosting over cookies using a butter knife or the back of a small spoon. Add sprinkles or decorative colored icing as desired.