Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies

A few Christmases ago me and my girlfriends decided that instead of giving each other gifts we would do a cookie exchange.  It was a great way to try new things, and to not have to do all the work yourself.  Well this recipe was NOT one of the ones I made.  My long time best friend Ellen brought these and they were divine.  Super soft but not too sweet.  She made them with a glaze as opposed to the regular hard icing that always makes its way on top of sugar cookies.  I immediately demanded the recipe and have made them every year since. I shall be forever in her debt.

Sugar cookies take some time, and actually allowing the dough to cool is pretty important.  Start by mixing your flour (by dumping cups of flour INTO your measuring cup and levelling, NEVER SCOOP), salt, and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.  Using room temperature butter is also important.  In an electric mixer, cream together your butter and sugar until fluffy, then add eggs and vanilla.

Doctors recommend you do not eat at this step...

Slowly add the dry mixture to the sugar and butter allowing it to combine with each addition.  Slow and steady will ensure complete mixture.

Just a little messy

This is why it is important to properly measure out your flour.  One time I scooped instead of filled and ended up with terrible doughy sugar cookies.  Just don't do it.  

When you are finished adding your dry, you may think that you don't need all of it and you may be right, you will have a malleable dough that sticks together and holds its shape.  Split it in two, wrap each half in plastic, and pop in the fridge for an hour or so.  

Once you are ready to roll out your dough preheat your oven and roll out one half at a time.  Mine crumbled a bit when I rolled it out, but if you go very slowly it sticks together better.  Roll out about a quarter of an inch thick and cut into all the little shapes you would like!  Since I like to go simple, I always just go round.  More sophisticated.  Or something.  If you are a first timer at cookies then you just keep cutting shapes and rolling up the extra pieces until you are all out! 

A quarter of an inch or so

Bake for 9 minutes on parchment paper at 325 and then take out of the oven and move immediately to a cooling rack.  They will look a little underdone in the centre, and that is the reason why they are so good.  They will puff up a little bit in the oven, but sink back nice and flat once they cool.  

See the derpy one in the corner? I call him "Leftovers"

For the glaze, you just use egg whites and icing sugar.  You can color it if you want, but I just used some pearl dust for mine.  Went for an icicle look.  No, I was not making Frozen themed cookies, though I admit they do look that way.  I also make a small batch of regular icing sugar, with corn syrup, icing sugar, and a little bit of milk to pipe on some snowflake designs.  Brush on a coat of two of the glaze and let dry.  Once the glaze is mostly dry then pipe on some designs and let completely set.  I like to store mine in the fridge and they also freeze very well!  

Pretty and delicious!

Ready for the rules?

Ingredients:

- 4 cups all purpose flour

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1 cup unsalted butter (if salted then cut the salt in half)

- 2 cups sugar

- 2 large eggs

- 2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.

In an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture until fully combined.

Split mixture into two round, flat discs and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.  Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  Chilling the dough will help your cookies keep their shape while baking! 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Once chilled, roll dough out about 1/4 inch thick and cut your shapes out.  Place on parchment paper and bake for 9 minutes.  Do NOT over bake.  Cookies will be soft and appear uncooked in the centre. Carefully remove from oven and place on cooling rack until completely cool.

Icing:

For glaze, mix one or two egg whites with enough icing sugar to create a thin paste.  Brush glaze over cookies.  Allow to partially dry and brush with a second coat of glaze.  

For snowflake designs, mix 1/2 cup of icing sugar, 1 teaspoon milk, 1 teaspoon corn syrup, and a drop of lemon juice.  You want a fairly sturdy consistency so the designs hold their shape.  Mix different amounts of those ingredients until you get a texture that can be piped from an icing bag, while also hold its shape.

Allow cookies to completely set and then they can be stacked.

Done!

I hope these become your new favourites too!

Love,

Jen