My Girls' Best Test Kitchen Sugar Cookies
Amanda's wood rasp/nutmeg grater.
Vanilla seeds give these cookies a lovely fragrance.
Sugar, nutmeg and vanilla go in the mixer to blend together -- when we did this, a delicious puff of vanilla-scented sugar dust floated up from the mixer.
Lots of butter and a teensy bit of shortening.
Thirschfeld says the creamed butter and sugar should look like freshly scooped ice cream.
Amanda catches some stray honey after she adds some to the mixing bowl.
Whisking cake flour is a must -- otherwise, it can be lumpy.
The dry ingredients get added in three additions, so that they don't fly out of the mixer.
Our dough was quite soft (it was 80 degrees and muggy out), so we chilled it for about 20 minutes before rolling it into balls.
Make sure to roll the dough gently -- think of it as a delicate flower.
A light dusting of sugar...
and a gentle press with the tines of a fork, and they're ready to go into the oven.
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Author Notes: If my kids don't like them I don't care who has tested them. LOL. We love America's Test Kitchen and are happy about this challenge. These remind me very much of my grandmothers sugar cookies and somehow no one seems to have the recipe. Maybe memory is better served here. I used a whole vanilla bean and scraped out the seeds. Do not throw away the empty pod. Put it in a quart jar and fill it with sugar. Put a lid on it roll it around and store. Next time you make these cookies or anything sweet that gets a sugar coating you will have a very special addition, vanilla sugar. I don't like vegetable shortening for the most part but I also know it helps to give a tender chewy crumb, so I used a small amount in addition to the butter. - thirschfeld
Food52 Review: Golden and crumbly around the edges and soft and chewy within, these cookies are gently flavored with real vanilla seeds, nutmeg, honey and just the right amount of salt to enhance the other players without taking over the field. The combination of regular and cake flour, and butter (lots) and shortening (a little -- we used non-hydrogenated) makes for a rich, tender dough that spreads and crisps nicely but doesn't lose all of its structure. We recommend chilling the cookie dough for 20 to 30 minutes before rolling -- it will make your job a bit easier. We used dark baking sheets, so we lowered the oven temperature to 350 so the cookies wouldn't bake too quickly. - A&M - A&M
Serves 2 dozen
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoons nutmeg
- 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt; if you sub table salt cut it to 1/4 teaspoon
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 1 tablespoon honey, something with citrus notes is good
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup sugar for rolling the cookies
- Make sure you have an oven rack placed dead in the middle of your oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine both flours, baking powder and salt. Stir it with the measuring spoon to mix.
- Place the sugar, nutmeg and vanilla seeds into the bowl of a mixer and mix for two minutes to distibute. Turn off the mixer and add the butter and shortening. I use cold, when I squeeze it it just gives, butter because I personally think it creams better. You do not want this to look granular and you don't want the fat to break out and look similar to cottage cheese either. It should look like ice cream just scooped from the container. Start out on low speed and when the butter starts to cream gradually increase the speed to medium and cream for about 2 minutes total.
- Scrape down the sides with a spatula. Add the egg and mix to combine. Add the honey and mix briefly.
- Adding the flour in thirds, to keep it from flying out of the mixing bowl, mix at low speed and mix until all is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
- Place the remaining half cup of sugar into a seperate bowl. Line two 12 x 17 baking sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Using a tablespoon or a number 40 scoop, scoop out some dough. Using your hands roll it into a ball and then roll it around in the sugar until coated. Place it onto the baking sheet. Repeat until you have 12 cookies on the tray. Using a fork, flatten the cookies to about a 1/2 inch thickness.
- Place tray into the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes. While they are cooking roll and coat the remaining twelve cookies. When the timer goes off check the cookies. They should be browning at the edges but still light in the middle. If they're not, leave them in the oven for another few minutes. Remove them and let them cool for 3-5 minutes before changing them to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Place the other tray of cookies into the oven and repeat this step.
- Your Best Chewy Sugar Cookie Contest Finalist!
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about 3 years ago Basia
Love those cookies. You got them very even looking, mine are always so different.
about 3 years ago thirschfeld
I went back and retested these today. This time I used what I call rainforest juice, not-hydrogenated shortening, like Amanda and Merrill did. I tried using this stuff the first time I saw it at the store, months ago, and didn't think it worked as well for baking but thought I would give it a go round again. It definitely allows the cookies to spread, making them "look" different than the ones originally made with hydrogenated shortening. I also only put six to a tray this time because of the spread. They just cooled enough for a taste, trying one, and I think they taste every bit the same and just as good as the first batch. I don't usually give Vivian and Lynnie cookies for breakfast but today...we will make an exception for test purposes.
about 3 years ago thirschfeld
Just taste tested them again. I think you could absolutely bake these with either shortening and they are delicious which ever shortening you use.
about 3 years ago george
I tried these cookies today. Totally delicious. Loved them.
about 3 years ago ChefJune
have you thought of using a touch of lard rather than the shortening in your cookies? I'm going to try this recipe, but with lard. I love sugar cookies that stay soft. ;)
about 3 years ago kaykay
Made this last night...the cookies turned out more like the Food52 photo, much thinner with no fork tine marks showing, but I prefer thinner cookies so I wasn't disappointed. I used freshly grated nutmeg which gave it a subtly sophisticated taste that makes this cookie unique. I enjoyed that the cookie was a crisp chewy vs. a more traditional soft chewy yet still maintained a very delicate, buttery texture. This was a great twist on an old favorite!
about 3 years ago monkeymom
I got to taste these and they were a surprise to me. They look like some kind of plain jane sugar cookie but then you bite into one and with each bite you taste something different...a little honey, the next might be butter, then the nutmeg, and then a bit of salt...each flavor is subtle and comes and goes. Before you know it you've packed away five cookies! My suggestion is that you have to try these seductive things. They were wonderful!
about 3 years ago kaykay
It wasn't easy, but I did save three cookies and tried them this morning. They still tasted utterly delicious and maintained a great texture. I have to admit I regretted sharing some with our neighbor the night before. I almost broke down and made another batch today, but thankfully, MonkeyMom invited me on a walk before I submitted to a feeding frenzy.
about 3 years ago monkeymom
Congrats! Your girls sure have good taste!
about 3 years ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
Good luck to you and the gang, thirschfeld!!
about 3 years ago KelseyTheNaptimeChef
Great recipe and story!
about 3 years ago ENunn
Wow; cutie pie.
about 3 years ago testkitchenette
Love the nutmeg and honey additions! Your photo brings back memories of standing on a chair helping my mom while she baked (we re-lived that memory today).
about 3 years ago TheWimpyVegetarian
I love the photo of you and your daughter! We're visiting our oldest granddaughter, age 5, in a couple weeks and she's all set to bake cupcakes. So fun. One question - since you add some honey to the cookies, how do they keep? I've noticed honey really absorbs a lot of moisture from the air and has made my baked things really soft over a couple days. Am I doing something wrong?
about 3 years ago thirschfeld
We pretty much let her dress herself, today was better than some and not as good as others. She is into hats at the moment. Hadn't thought of cream cheese but what a great idea.
about 3 years ago thirschfeld
Since I came up with these this morning and made them during my littlest ones nap I don't know yet. With the fat and honey I am hoping they will stay chewy. So I will let you know in a couple of days.
about 3 years ago thirschfeld
Hey ChezSuzanne, I managed to hold back two of the cookies in a ziploc bag. They are as tender and chewy as the first day. That makes me very happy. I am not a big fan of cookies that don't hold well.
about 3 years ago NakedBeet
Aww man, I like that in place of the apron there's a hat on her! ; ) thirschfeld, what about cream cheese instead of shortening? Rugelach recipes use that to make the dough more tender.
about 3 years ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
What a great photo of you and your daughter! I so miss those days....
about 3 years ago Lizthechef
Who's the sous-chef, you or that cute little peanut?! Thanks for the tip re vanilla sugar. Recipe looks terrific.
about 3 years ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
I love it! Gr8 photos. Wish my cookies were thick as yours. :(