Soft, Moist Sugar Cookies

Intro: Soft, Moist Sugar Cookies

I know there are a lot of sugar cookie recipes out there. Some people like the crunchy, hard ones that people give around Christmas time. I always keep them until my guest leaves and then throw them away. Others, like me, want their sugar cookies soft and moist.

I was given an amazing recipe for soft sugar cookies - then I lost it. In a fit of desperation I tried to make my own recipe and it WORKED! Woo hoo! 

Here is that recipe!

STEP 1: Ingredients

Ingredients

Cookies:                                                        

6-7 tbsp. butter (softened)                         
1 1/3 c. sugar                                                 
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract                                   
1 egg
2 1/4 c. flour
3 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. milk

Equipment

cookie sheet
beater

**  The powdered sugar is for whatever frosting recipe you use. I don't have one I'm willing to share. This is not because it's so good and I want to make sure that only I can make it, but because it's so bad and I only used it to make my cookie prettier for the photo. The cookies don't even really need frosting.

STEP 2: Butter, Sugar, Egg, Vanilla

Put your soft butter in your bowl then put in the sugar. I know, it seems trivial but it actually makes life a lot easier to put the butter in first.

Use your beater to combine the two. Then add your egg and vanilla. Beat again until mixed.

STEP 3: Dry Ingredients

In a smaller bowl mix the flour, salt, and baking powder.

STEP 4: Last Additions

If you're following the pictures and are suddenly confused by the orange bowl - I put the wet mix in it.

Now add the dry ingredients in intervals and beat it into the butter mixture between each interval.

Once it becomes too difficult to mix it completely, add the milk.

STEP 5: Still Mixing

Continue to beat the mixture until it seems pretty homogenous. Since you're using a beater it won't form into a nice doughy ball. You're going to need to use your (clean) hands and combine all of the little bits into a dough ball.

Place your dough ball into a container, cover it, and place it into the fridge for at least 2 hours. I like to leave it in for 4 hours just to be safe.

STEP 6: Bake Then Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease your cookie sheet.

For "drop cookies" put use ~1/8 c. dough for each cookie

For cut-out cookies use a rolling pin to flatten dough to about 1/3 in. thick.

Bake about 8 minutes.

Comments

[LollyLauren]

I have made these and the are the softest, lightest sugar cookies i have EVER had!!

[ElizabethS20]

I used one of those mixers that twirls the bowl around and holds the mixer up itself while mixing it, and after adding in the milk and letting the whole thing stir for long enough, the batter became so soft it was almost liquid... O.o Also how many cookie DOES this batter make? I noticed someone else asked the same question and never got a response. My cookies also came out as lightly sweetened biscuits when I followed this recipe and the cookies would not come off the tin foil as I saw you using, resulting in a pile of lightly sweetened biscuits mish-mashed together. I am sure to never use this recipe again, and sorry I wasted the ingredeants.

[angela.boger.54]

i followed your recipe exactly. best sugar cookies i have ever had! the dough is incredible soft and sticky though, so i found it best to just drop small spoon fulls directly onto the pan instead of trying to roll it out and make shapes, they cook down into perfect circles that way. i made them yesterday and am making them again with my daughter since its easy enough for kids too. good job, great recipe!

[sladek]

I presume "c." is short for cup?
If so, how big of a cup?

[glitzjewelrydesigns]

Cup as in measuring cup.

[Caulerpa]

A cup is ~16 tablespoons.

[AidanG]

Or 8 oz, by volume. It's an English measure.

[rmiller50]

How many cookies does this make?

[cyanidevii]

followed your recipe exactly and it came out like lightly sweetened biscuts.

[mbarry]

These cookies taste awesome (I hate hard sugar cookies) but I had a really hard time working with the dough...It refrigerated overnight so I know it was cold. I gave up on cookie cutters and even when I formed balls with my hands, the dough stuck to them too! Did I miss something?

[Caulerpa]

I don't usually have trouble with this recipe so maybe you could try using a smidge less butter? If you try less butter let me know if it works!

[n24k]

best cookies ever!!!!!!! thanks a lot!!!!!
this is the first time in my life that cookies taste nice!
:)

[itxhurt2know]

i <3333 sugar cookies. especially these soft ones. mmmmmmmmm.... you should definately make me a batch for my birthday. (its okay you still have time.. my birthday is in March haha...)

xoxo Azn Juliet xoxo

[pattermon]

Why let it set for two hours?

[Caulerpa]

I think they just cook better. I'm really impatient so I usually try to skip steps like this but I've found they tend to bake better when refrigerated. Also, it is WAY easier to cut them into shapes if the dough is cold.

[Joe Martin]

This looks perfect, I love soft cookies and you can't really buy them! I will try this

=D

[Caulerpa]

Let me know how they turn out for you! :]

[Joe Martin]

I'll try them today however I'm not very good with the cup system so I don't know how they'll turn out! :)

haha

[Caulerpa]

good luck!