Grains
Secret Cookies
Popular on Food52
54 Reviews
Kira
December 17, 2022
This is my new favorite cookie recipe to make with littles! My 4 yo did a great job rolling the balls between his palms, and both he and my 2 yo loved pressing the cup into the sugar and then the cookie. So rare to find a cookie they can shape without it being ruinous. And the recipe is so fast and easy they didn't lose steam.
I did 2/3 scale and weighed all ingredients - that's exactly one block of Kerrygold so it was easier for me. Only change was I kept the 2 egg yolks instead of scaling them down. This made the dough come together more easily without sacrificing texture. These were delicious and we all loved 'em.
I did 2/3 scale and weighed all ingredients - that's exactly one block of Kerrygold so it was easier for me. Only change was I kept the 2 egg yolks instead of scaling them down. This made the dough come together more easily without sacrificing texture. These were delicious and we all loved 'em.
GAYMAN69420
November 4, 2022
ymmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyy omg so god 6696969696996966996969696969969 YES BESTIE. EBEBBEBEBEBEBEBAAAAAAAAAAAUGUGUUAUUEUEUUAGGHGGHGHGNS BEANS AND COOKIES ARE A FART DIEREAH COMBO YES I NEED SPRINKLES AND BESTIE POWER!
Amy
December 28, 2020
This dough went together quickly and was so easy to work with; not too sticky or tough. These cookies are a mildly flavored plain cookie that is just right. Keeping this one, for sure.
amorrison
December 27, 2020
I thought these were great! I made them Christmas Eve with my 6 year old daughter as cookies to leave for Santa. They were easy, quick and my daughter loved the sprinkle part; we used the bottom of a crystal cut vase that had a sunburst pattern. Our cookies didn't get as "sprinkled" as the ones in the photo, but it wasn't a big deal. I cooked them in a convection oven but they still took 10 minutes (I think we made ours a bit thicker and bigger than intended). They are indeed very rich but also very delicious and make for a beautiful gift. I guess I should add: I loved the simplicity in flavor (like shortbread) and still thought they were super flavorful. I plan to make these again next year!
M. Y.
December 23, 2020
I’ve baked these twice. I find them blah....lacking flavor. The last time I saved them by drizzling with a tart lemon glaze. If I’m investing that much buttter, I want a better flavor return. Shortbread has fewer ingredients and more flavor.
Margaret B.
December 23, 2020
This is why I do not make cookies. They sound wonderful, everyone raves about them, yet when I do the recipe they turn out flavorless, and ugly.
Jennifer
December 22, 2020
I made these cookies because I needed an easy, sparkly specimen to complete some Christmas cookie gift boxes. These looked like they would do the job, and they did--easy and sparkly. The dough is a bit crumbly but it holds together fine. I experimented with how to get the sugar to stick on the bottom of my champagne flute, and I found that lightly buttering the glass yielded consistent results. Cookie texture was terrific, as others have said. Flavor? Bland. With my last tray, I went with some good quality sugar, not colored, and quick gratings of nutmeg. The colored sugar cookies went into the gift boxes, and I kept the less-showy nutmeg cookies for us to eat--otherwise, I'm not sure I would have wasted Christmas calories on them.
DebRedman108
November 23, 2020
I was wondering if salted butter was going to turn out to be some sort of miracle throwback ingredient that would elevate these cookies, but after making them over the weekend, I think I'll stick to my old Kris Kringle cutouts that use cream of tartar. That tang was missing from the well-textured and easy-to-make, but ultimately bland, Secret Cookies.
Carina
December 24, 2019
Made a batch. Used small cookie dough scoop. Lots of cookies and extremely easy to make. The texture is just right!
Ilovecookiestoo
December 18, 2019
They were so easy to make and tasted great I will be adding them to my Christmas cookie rotation.
Megan
December 12, 2019
Made these today per recipe. Turned out wonderfully thin, slight crumble and crisp around the edges. A wonderful middle ground between a sugar cookie and shortbread. I had room temperature ingredients and weighed them and had no problem with the dough coming together.
Natalie
December 10, 2019
The Holy Grail of Christmas cookies is a cookie that is delicious, easy to make, and yet looks special. This cookie is all of that! One bowl. No rolling and cutting out. Decorating takes seconds and is done when they get out of the oven. And- they taste amazing!
Tips: 1. Weigh the flour. Too much or too little flour could mean your cookies are too crumbly to roll or “run.” Also- be sure your dough is very well mixed. You may have to do a little by hand if your stand mixer tends to leave crumbs in the bottom like mine. (See issues with too crumbly or running above.)
2. A little lemon zest added the tiny pinch of acid these needed. I used the zest of 1 small lemon. The cookies didn’t taste lemony but had that extra “something.”
Tips: 1. Weigh the flour. Too much or too little flour could mean your cookies are too crumbly to roll or “run.” Also- be sure your dough is very well mixed. You may have to do a little by hand if your stand mixer tends to leave crumbs in the bottom like mine. (See issues with too crumbly or running above.)
2. A little lemon zest added the tiny pinch of acid these needed. I used the zest of 1 small lemon. The cookies didn’t taste lemony but had that extra “something.”
Melissa R.
December 10, 2019
I have made a version of this cookie for decades (passed down from my Grandma through the years) and they are absolutely my favorite. I will note that there is one big difference, our recipe uses both oil and butter (1 cup of each), which I wonder will help the folks who are having issues with dry and/or crumbly dough. We also add a generous bit of nutmeg. A couple other tricks learned through the years - rolling the balls in the sugar gives a gorgeous deep color (if you are in the mood) and rubbing the bottom of the cup on the dough every few cookies keeps it nice and greased when pressing down on them. Bon Appetit!
M. Y.
December 8, 2019
The intro story mention salt but there is none in the ingredient list except for “salted butter”. I made these adding a half teaspoon salt. It made about 60 very sweet, rather bland cookies. The dough was very easy and fast to prepare. I used coarse sugar and a meat tenderizer to mark the cookie balls. They’re just OK In my opinion.....nice with a cup of tea. I’d rather use the butter to make shortbread, just as easy and no fussy marking for a much better result.
penmoon
December 8, 2019
I really wanted these to work for me, but they just didn't. I tried making them twice, using salted butter and the spooning method to measure out the flour. But the dough was like sand and was very hard to bring together, not to mention press flat. The finished cookies really needed salt. I'm glad they worked for others. Maybe our Seattle climate had something to do with it?
judy
October 10, 2019
I am a definite fan of salted butter. I have gone back to using it as my butter of choice in baking, reducing the added salt by about a 1/4 tsp per stick of butter used when I add salt to the rest of the recipe. That being said, this looks easy and delicious. I will make a batch and make into logs. I like to cut off a few and bake a few at a time. I always have a few logs of a vaieiyt of flavors in the freezer for when a cooking craving hits. Just the two of us now, but that does not diminish our love of cookies. thanks.
Kestrel
September 23, 2019
I do not get how sugar will stick to the bottom of a patterned glass (which I don't have). How might one create this recipe using a cookie stamp and the sugar? Probably just stamp and sprinkle?
Bella95
September 27, 2019
Once you have pressed the first one a small amount of butter will remain on the bottom of the glass. That will stick enough sugar to it. I've never used a cookie stamp so can't comment on that but imagine it would work better if you can find some way of pressing the sugar slightly into the cookies as a glass would do.
Bella95
February 23, 2019
Can't wait to try these. Thanks for the idea of using a glass with a patterened base. Mine have plain bottoms so will be off to the second hand shops especially to find a cool one.
Howard L.
December 10, 2017
I used home made vanilla sugar (1 bean/2 cups sugar), shaped into log, refrigerated and cut 1/4 inch slices. Baked them plain. They were described as "astounding". Great crunch and the vanilla lingers on the tongue.
Willi G.
December 2, 2017
I added the zest of a Meyer lemon and massaged it into the sugar and subbed in 1 tsp lemon extract (and took out 1tsp vanilla) and the result was delicious. Also my dough was not dry at all!
Sarah K.
October 12, 2017
I was very happy with these cookies! I think they would be an excellent choice to make with small children because the dough comes together quickly and easily and kids would probably love the stamping and sprinkling process. I can't wait to try them with my three-year-old niece. Are used a small ice cream scoop to form the Dow into balls and found that I didn't even need to roll them. The cookies are a bit sweet for my taste, so I may try a little less sugar next time.
Kathy C.
December 11, 2016
These are delicious and really easy. I rolled half of the balls in the sugar and then flattened them with a regular glass, seemed to be less messier that way and worked just as well.
jifferb
November 2, 2015
These are amazing- so so easy, in the mixer, into the oven. Everyone asked for the recipe. Wonderful wonderful- thank you!!
JosieD
December 17, 2013
I just made these--the flavor is great, but the dough is very crumbly and difficult to work with, as others have mentioned. I'm going to try and roll them into logs for slice-and-bake and see how that goes.
Greenstuff
December 17, 2013
These cookies are so good, they are worth some effort. I posted a similar recipe that I adapted during last year's Piglet, Food52's annual celebration of cookbooks, http://food52.com/recipes/20700-thumbprint-cookies-an-adventure-in-cooking-from-faviken
What I learned in adapting that recipe was that it was important to blend the butter with the flour slowly and carefully, using my fingers instead of a mixer. I've thought I'd try that same technique the next time I make these Secret cookies.
What I learned in adapting that recipe was that it was important to blend the butter with the flour slowly and carefully, using my fingers instead of a mixer. I've thought I'd try that same technique the next time I make these Secret cookies.
JosieD
December 18, 2013
hmmm, interesting, Greenstuff! I'm having no luck with pressing these, so maybe I'll do some thumbprints!
lisas156
December 6, 2013
These cookies were absolutely delicious. I was disappointed, however, that the pretty shaped I pressed into them did not hold up. I even tried chilling the dough before pressing. No matter as they taste great, but I don't know how you get them to look like the picture!
markie
April 21, 2013
I usually like cookies w/ lots of bells and whistles, but my mom requested a butter cookie so I thought I'd try this one. It's delicious!! No need for any bells or whistles b/c the dough itself is so good in its simplicity. All the comments were very helpful. I took jane.pilcher1's suggestion and used almond extract...so good! (I used just 1 tsp almond and 1 tsp vanilla, I think 2 tsp of almond would be too strong). Thank you for sharing the "secret"!
Whitney G.
December 15, 2012
These - are - so - good. Buttery, crispy, light and rich at the same time. I made the dough ahead and rolled it into a log, cut, sprinkle, bake. This is a great go to buttery cookie.
Lmschwarz
December 8, 2012
we just put our first batch in the oven--my 13 year old is taking these to a cookie swap this afternoon. We couldn't find a glass anywhere with anything but a flat bottom--finally, we tried the bottom of a heavy, cut-glass decanter. So far, so good. Can't wait to try these. Thank you!
jane.pilcher1
December 2, 2012
I love the flavor of almond so much that I think I might substitute almond extract for the vanilla the next time. Yum!
jane.pilcher1
December 2, 2012
Just made these yummy cookies. Actually, I made the dough last evening, divided it in half, rolled each half into a log, and wrapped each in parchment paper. Put both into a "jumbo" Ziploc bag overnight. Today I just sliced & baked. DELICIOUS!! I didn"t have any sprinkles or colored sugar. Didn't matter. Try these! They couldn't be easier.
Manhattan T.
February 18, 2012
I made these for my daughter's lunches and used pink, lavendar and green sugar for spring (if you BAKE for it, it will come!). I had very little success using the glass bottom method and switched to 3-finger smooshing then sprinkling w/ sugar. I baked them until lightly golden but would warn against baking them too long, as they got crispier than I wanted on day 2. Don't get me wrong: they were eaten, every last one, but next time (and there will be a next time) I'll bake them slightly less. Fabulous flavor, very pretty, super-easy. Love them!
jbj3114
December 31, 2011
These are delicious. Seriously rich!
I flattened the balls of dough slightly with my fingers, sprinkled the sugar, then flattened with the glass.
This helped keep the dough from sticking to the glass.
I used raw sugar, because, the label on the stuff available at our local market, said that it was colored crystals ................ crystals of what???
I flattened the balls of dough slightly with my fingers, sprinkled the sugar, then flattened with the glass.
This helped keep the dough from sticking to the glass.
I used raw sugar, because, the label on the stuff available at our local market, said that it was colored crystals ................ crystals of what???
Sly B.
December 20, 2011
LynndaSB & Greenstuff,
Thank you so much for your comments!! You helped me to make up my mind! I will be baking these cookies this weekend!
Thank you so much for your comments!! You helped me to make up my mind! I will be baking these cookies this weekend!
LynndaSB
December 20, 2011
OMG! These cookies are delicious! so delicate and the buttery taste just sweetens the moderate sugar that melts in your mouth!
I changed the recipe a bit...I used very high quality imported butter but only have 1/2 pound....so I cut the rest of the recipe by 1/3.....I added a bit more vanilla than was asked for and used 1 1/2 yolks.
no trouble with the dough...it was mellow and pliable and easy to work with....
I cooked the little lovelies at a little lower temp...around 300 and for about 5 minutes longer than required in the recipe.
I loved squishing the red sugar into the top of the cookie....I dipped the bottom of the glass in water before pressing down...this prevented any sticking!
when I popped one into my mouth.....heavenly!
The secret is to hide a few for yourself !
I changed the recipe a bit...I used very high quality imported butter but only have 1/2 pound....so I cut the rest of the recipe by 1/3.....I added a bit more vanilla than was asked for and used 1 1/2 yolks.
no trouble with the dough...it was mellow and pliable and easy to work with....
I cooked the little lovelies at a little lower temp...around 300 and for about 5 minutes longer than required in the recipe.
I loved squishing the red sugar into the top of the cookie....I dipped the bottom of the glass in water before pressing down...this prevented any sticking!
when I popped one into my mouth.....heavenly!
The secret is to hide a few for yourself !
Greenstuff
December 16, 2011
I make a lot of Swedish cookies with the same basic ingredients, just slightly different amounts. I decided to add these to the mix so that I could use some old punch cups and a pretty French mustard jar as my presses. I decreased the flour a little, as I'd seen the jagged edges in the photo and thought I'd like to avoid them. (I also used white sugar instead of colored, as my Swedish cookies are pretty monchromatic.)
Anyway, even with less flour, I did have a little problem with crumbly dough, as others have mentioned. That was solved by carefully pushing it together as I worked, not unlike working with pie crust or other pastry. Then, perhaps because the dough was actually not dry enough, some of my imprinted patterns blurred a bit. But not all. The mustard jar pattern was particularly nice, better than the antique punch cups that had served up a lot of glogg in their times.
The bottom line--these cookies are delicious!! I'm astounded by how slightly varying amounts of butter, sugar, egg, and flour produce different flavors. And I love the imprints. I wish I had all the time in the world, I'd experiment with them more.
Anyway, even with less flour, I did have a little problem with crumbly dough, as others have mentioned. That was solved by carefully pushing it together as I worked, not unlike working with pie crust or other pastry. Then, perhaps because the dough was actually not dry enough, some of my imprinted patterns blurred a bit. But not all. The mustard jar pattern was particularly nice, better than the antique punch cups that had served up a lot of glogg in their times.
The bottom line--these cookies are delicious!! I'm astounded by how slightly varying amounts of butter, sugar, egg, and flour produce different flavors. And I love the imprints. I wish I had all the time in the world, I'd experiment with them more.
hennef7
December 14, 2011
Just made these again and they are every bit as good as I remembered from last year.....thanks again for the recipe...
handmade
December 12, 2011
I just made these beautiful, buttery cookies, which I was looking forward to doing after tasting them at a Food52 cookbook signing a few weeks ago. I didn't have any trouble with the dough at all. My problem was that I tried unsuccessfully using a cookie press without letting the dough chill first, and that was my own fault; the dough stuck to the press. I got around it by flattening the cookie a bit with my palm, then liberally sprinkling very safe raspberry red decorating sugar (by India Tree) directly on the cookie before pressing.
Sly B.
December 12, 2011
Is anyone monitoring the comments on this recipe? I asked about the yolk bath and now someone is having issues with the dough.
Kristen M.
December 14, 2011
Hi Sly Brandy -- Veronica might not have notifications turned on, so she may not know that there are questions on the recipe. As for the egg yolk, my mom has a similar recipe, where she brushes egg yolk thinned with water onto a roll of cookie dough, then rolls it in coconut and slices and bakes it, so I think agamom's variation sounds great!
mikelien
December 11, 2011
I made the dough and it was so dry and cumbled so badly I could not do anything with it.
Any suggestions?
Any suggestions?
Kristen M.
December 14, 2011
Hi mikelien -- sorry about that! Did you use 3/4 pound of butter (that's 3 whole sticks)?
mrathmel
December 5, 2011
I think this is the "long lost" family sugar cookie recipe I've been searching for for years. I am so excited to try it!
hennef7
February 14, 2011
I made these at Christmas cuz I love sugar cookies, but don't like to roll them out. They are yummy...
hennef7
December 20, 2010
Thanks for a great recipe, Veronica. I love sugar cookies, but don't like to roll them out. These have a wonderful sugar cookie flavor with and easy prep.
cowgirlculture
December 19, 2010
These are perfect! I am so happy to have found this recipe. To me, this is the perfect Christmas cookie to leave out for Santa! Such a wonderful cookie - thank you for sharing! You made my day. Have a wonderful night!
agamom
January 10, 2010
The real 'secret' to this recipe is how incredibly delicious the cookie tastes after the flavor has developed over a few days! Perfect for Christmas gift giving or if you can restrain from consuming immediately. The vanilla scent is wonderful and the colors add to the beauty. Thank you for sharing! Ran out of time to bake so I rolled half the dough into a log in parchment and kept it overnight in the fridge. The next day: brushed the roll in beaten egg yolk mixed with a teaspoon of water, then sprinkled the colored sugar around the roll, then sliced (like sables) instead of rolling into balls. Not as pretty, but still delicious and very quickly made - and consumed!
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