Hey gorgeous! Looking for that classic sugar cookie recipe that is just delicious and easy to bake?! Well here it is. I love this recipe because the structure of these sugar cookies is just perfect to decorate and they are soft and mouthwatering. I make them mostly during the holiday season as they are great to give as gifts. With a few ingredients and with some handy tips and tricks, you will be able to bake them in no time.
This post is all about a classic sugar cookie recipe
Here are the ingredients you will need for your sugar cookies:
Dry ingredients:
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (540 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch (45 grams)
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (254 grams)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (220 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions:
Once your butter and sugar are creamed together add your room temperature eggs one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next. For flavor, mostly go with vanilla extract works. For me it just works, but you can try with vanille bean paste as well, I tried once and the results are pretty similar. I just think that you should don’t be afraid to test some ingredients until you find the right combination, so feel free to experiment other flavors, for instance lemon zest or cinnamon.
Now is the part you will mix the dry and wet ingredients. For that, gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Start on a low speed to prevent flour from flying everywhere. It is good that you mix it until just fully combined. Please, do not overmix the dough as you can risk making your cookies tough.
Here are some dough handling tips:
This dough is versatile and doesn’t stick to your fingers, thanks to the cornstarch. You can roll it out immediately or chill it for a bit to ensure perfect shapes. While this dough doesn’t require chilling, I recommend you doing so for 20 minutes, as it can make it easier for you to handle and cut clean shapes. If you’re chilling the dough, cover it with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
Roll the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper. I personally like to do it with parchment paper. Depends of where you are, can be quite warm, and with the butter of the dough getting soft it can get sticky on the plastic. Another tip that I got from a friend, was to toss a bit a flour over. Just a bit. It will help the dough not getting sticky. I believe that all those tricks helps keeps things tidy and makes it easier to transfer cut-out shapes to your baking sheet.
For the cookie cutter, mostly I like using these small stainless cookie cutters. This is because with those ones I can get sharp edges and it gives a better final result, buuuut hey this is a personal opinion, you can definitely get similar results with plastic cookie cutters as well. In any case, this is one of the most fun parts of this baking session, so play around as there are a lot of cookie cutters of different sizes and shapes out there.
I thinkn it is important to say that you should aim for an even thickness, I would say around 5/16 of an inch will work well for a balance between too thin and too thick. For this, I like to use this type of roller pin. It comes with a sort of rings that helps to keep the dough evenly distributed. Below is the type of roller pin that I like using.
Baking and Finishing Touches
At this moment, you should now preheat your oven to about 375°F. Bake the cookies for about 11 minutes, depending on your oven and how crisp you like them. If you are looking for that slightly golden edge, and just like me, prefer a crispy outside and soft inside you can let them bake in the with the oven off for 1 or 2 extra minute. After that you can let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Seriously, I cannot stress how much I love baking these cookies. Sugar cookies are just a fantastic and delicious canvas for your creativity. No matter you’re cutting out fun shapes or experimenting with flavors, the possibilities are endless. It is just fun to do with yourself of with your family and friends. My work colleagues and friends, just love getting them as gifts. It is kind becoming a tradition haha.
I think that the key here is to just enjoy the process and find what works best for you. I would love to know if you have any tips of your own, so we can learn from each other, so if you have any tips and tricks feel free to share them as well! If you liked this recipe, you might want check other delicious and easy cookies recipes. These cookies recipes can be found in the Cookies sub-category under the RECIPES category. Well for now happy baking!
