Unfussy Sugar Cookies
Total Time
2 hours
Rating
0 out of 5 stars
(0)
Ingredients
80 cookies
- 3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea or table salt (if using unsalted butter only)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (8 ounces or 225 grams) salted or unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 large egg white, ideally pasteurized (or use meringue or egg white powder as per label instructions)
- 1 1/4 cups (150 grams) powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
- A few drops of a flavoring of your choice (optional) (lemon, almond, vanilla)
- Food coloring and sprinkles, as you wish
How would you rate this recipe?
Preparation
Step 1
Combine flour, salt (if butter is unsalted), baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl or the work bowl of your machine, whisking to combine well. Cut butter into small cubes and add to dry ingredients.
Step 2
Run the machine, scraping down as needed, until the butter fully disappears into the flour mixture, which will look sandy and clump easily between your fingertips.
Step 3
Add the egg and vanilla and run the machine until it blends into an even cookie dough, scraping down a few times to make sure it mixes evenly.
Step 4
Divide dough in half and (edited to add) if it’s in loose chunks, gently knead it together into one mass on a sheet of parchment paper.
Step 5
Place a second sheet of parchment paper over the dough and roll each dough half between 2 large pieces of parchment paper into your desired thickness — I like these the most in the 3/16- to 1/4-inch range.
Step 6
Slide each parchment-and-cookie-dough slab onto the back of a baking sheet, thin tray, or thin cutting board and place in freezer for 15 to 20 minutes, until solid.
Step 7
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 8
Carefully remove top sheet of parchment paper from first cookie dough slab and place the side that touched the dough down on a large baking sheet.
Step 9
Cut cookies into your desired shape. Here I’m using a fluted pastry wheel to cut the cookies into 1.5-inch squares.
Step 10
Peel each cookie off the bottom sheet of parchment and arrange on baking sheet with 2 inches between them.
Step 11
Repeat with remaining slab of cookie dough.
Step 12
Bake cookies until they are a light golden brown at the edges, rotating trays once while baking to ensure even baking, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Step 13
Let cookies set for one minute on the tray after removing from the oven then transfer to a cooling rack to let the cookies cool completely.
Step 14
Whisk your egg white (or substitute reconstituted from egg white or meringue powder) in a large bowl until loose and frothy.
Step 15
Add salt and 1 cup of powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Add flavorings, if desired, and last 1/4 cup of sugar — it’s pretty stiff at this point, which is how you want it.
Step 16
To dip your cookies, scrape half of icing into wide bowl. Add water, 1/4 teaspoon at a time (a little goes a long way) to thin the frosting until it can thinly but mostly opaquely coat a dipped cookie.
Step 17
Skim the top of each cookie in the frosting, using a knife, spatula, or your finger to catch any drips before you flip it over.
Step 18
Arrange back on parchment-lined baking sheet to set completely. Once again, I tend to rush this outside.
Step 19
Scrape the remaining, thicker half of your icing into a sandwich or freezer bag, cut the tiniest nip off the corner of the bag, and pipe designs of your choice on top.
Step 20
If you’re adding sprinkles, do so every 3 to 4 cookies or the icing will begin set and the sprinkles won’t adhere.
Step 21
Let them set until completely solid, anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how thick the piping is.
Step 22
Save recipe for the next time?
Chef's notes
The cookie recipe is adapted from the one I’ve been using as long as I’ve known about it and a cult favorite on the internet, from the wonderful Bake at 350 blog.
What I like about them is that they crisp without being unpleasantly crunchy or dry, and they hold shapes nicely when baked, and they don’t forget the salt.
The original recipe calls for salted butter; should you only have unsalted, add 1/2 teaspoon fine sea or table salt.
The process (immediate roll out, no flour, etc.) is just the way I prefer to make — unfussy and very doable.
The icing recipe makes enough to coat the cookies as shown, but you might need extra if your designs are thicker or more elaborate.
