The Greatest Sugar Cookies
Prep
30m
Cook
10m
Total
40m
Bigly says
Listen to me. Sugar cookies. The GREATEST sugar cookies in the history of sugar cookies — and let me tell you, my grandmother made them, my grandmother was a tough woman, she could roll out a dough so thin you could read a newspaper through it and she'd box your ears if you tried to eat one before they cooled — and this recipe, the one I'm about to hand you for free, no charge, no subscription, beats hers. I'm sorry, Grandma. I love you. But the cookie is the cookie.
Most sugar cookies are a TOTAL DISASTER. They spread. They puff. They lose their shape. You roll out a beautiful little star, you slide it into the oven, you come back and it's a BLOB. A blob shaped vaguely like a thumbprint. Embarrassing. Sad. I've seen actual tears in suburban kitchens — big tough dads with aprons that say 'KISS THE COOK' standing over trays of formless disappointment, the children silent, the dog confused — and that's the kind of cookie crime we are STOPPING TODAY. Most chefs are too afraid to chill the dough properly because they're in a hurry, always in a hurry, what is the hurry, the cookie was invented before the printing press, it can wait another forty minutes.
These sugar cookies HOLD THEIR SHAPE. Crisp edges. A soft, buttery center that tastes like pure vanilla joy. They take icing like a CHAMP. You can decorate these for a wedding, a birthday, a Tuesday — Tuesday cookies are underrated, by the way, why are we only fancy on weekends, every day deserves a cookie — and they will be the star of whatever event you bring them to. People will ask. They will beg. They will offer you money. Don't sell the recipe. Tell them BiglyEats. We respect you. We respect the cookie. Trust me.
Ingredients
- 3 cupsall-purpose flour
- 3/4 tspbaking powder
- 1/2 tspkosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks)unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cupgranulated sugar
- 1large egg
- 2 tspvanilla extract(real vanilla, the imitation stuff is an insult)
- 1/2 tspalmond extract(optional but it makes them sing)
- 2 cupspowdered sugar (for icing)
- 2-3 tbspmilk
- 1 tbsplight corn syrup(for that shiny set-icing finish)
Steps
- 1
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- 2
In a large bowl, cream butter and granulated sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes. Do not overbeat — you want creamy, not fluffy.
- 3
Beat in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract until combined.
- 4
Add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing on low just until the dough comes together.
- 5
Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill at least 1 hour (or overnight).
- 6
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
- 7
Roll out one disk between two sheets of parchment to 1/4-inch thick. Cut shapes with cookie cutters and transfer to the prepared sheets, leaving 1 inch between.
- 8
Re-roll scraps once. Repeat with the second disk.
- 9
Bake 8-10 minutes, until the edges are just barely golden and the centers look set. Do not let them brown.
- 10
Cool on the sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before icing.
- 11
For the icing: whisk powdered sugar, 2 tbsp milk, and corn syrup until smooth. Add more milk by the teaspoon until the icing falls in ribbons. Spread or pipe onto cooled cookies and let set 1-2 hours.
One more thing
That's the cookie. The greatest sugar cookie. Decorate them however you want — stars, hearts, little dogs, whatever you've got rattling around in the drawer next to the spatulas you never use — and bring them to a party. Watch what happens. People will gather. They will talk. They will form a line. Lines. For the cookies. That's how you know you've won. Now go eat.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about The Greatest Sugar Cookies.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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