Can you share your favorite sugar cookie recipes?

[Chris_W]

With the holidays coming I want to make some good old fashioned sugar cookies, but the last couple recipes I made rose too much and turned out more cake like and I'm not sure what the heck went wrong. Do any of you have some good sugar cookie recipes to share? Thanks! Chris

[govgirl75]

Do you want a crunchy cookie or a soft cookie?
Glo

[Tigger]

My first place to turn would be to Julia Child, who proscribes a classic pâte sucrée. The recipe is given here as a crust for a sweet tart, but it can be rolled and cut for cookies as well. Bake at 325°. In my experience, you'll need a little extra flour for the rolling, as this is a delicate and somewhat sticky dough.

Julia Child's Pâte Sablée
(Sweet Pastry Dough)
from The Way to Cook
by Julia Child, 1989, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

For a 9- to 10-inch tart shell [make at least double for cookies, I should think]

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plain bleached cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter,
cut into 16 pieces
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cold water, plus droplets
more water, if needed

Measure the flours, salt and butter into the container of a food processor and process about a minute, until the butter is thoroughly blended. Add and process in the sugar, then the egg yolk, vanilla and water. Continue processing for several seconds, until the dough masses. Turn it out onto your work surface, form into a rough ball, then push out 2-tablespoon bits with the heel of your hand in 6-inch smears. Gather together into a cake, enclose in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold and hard - 2 hours at least. (The dough will keep 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator before it may turn grayish, but will keep perfectly for weeks in the freezer.)

[Roll out as needed. If doubling the recipe, I would divide the dough and chill in two balls.]

An alternative: http://www.thecooksatelier.com/Site_1/pate_sucree.html

This onegets good reviews at Epicurious. It does use baking powder, so it will lift more than a standard pâte sucrée.

My other option would be to see what's in one of the Silver Palate cookbooks, but no one seems to have uploaded those to the internets.

David

[Chris_W]

Do you want a crunchy cookie or a soft cookie?
Glo

I'm thinking a little soft, but not too soft, definitely not the rock hard ones. Something easy that you can roll out and cut, so I'll check out the pastry recipe too. Seems like the other recipes I tried must have been for soft sugar cookies which must be why they weren't really what I wanted?

[kHT]

Winter Fun Cookies

oven 375 degrees makes 2 dozen

1 1/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond or lemon extract (you decide)
5 tablespoons of margarine or butter (I like blue bonnet)
1 egg

In a large mixer bowl cream the margarine until it's whitish in color, then all all the wet items then gradually add the dry, mixing at medium speed. Can be rolled, balled or cut after chilling for 2 hours or up to 2 days. On can also add a small box of jello to this for different flavor. If mix gets to mushy then rechill.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Chris, sounds like the baking soda or powder was old?? We also do the Snickerdoodle from the Betty Crocker book with out cinn. to make sugar cookies.