I've been searching for a sugar cookie recipe that produces soft and chewy sugar cookies and this one delivers. The edges are chewy and the centers are tender. The buttery flavor reminds me of the sugar cookies my grandma used to make. The sprinkles baked right in not only saves time from having to frost and sprinkle the finished cookies, but they provide additional texture, chewiness, a bit of sweetness, and plenty of smiles - these are a hit with kids and are great for parties, Valentine's Day; or use them as your sugar cookie recipe for Christmas cookies with red and green sprinkles.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time9 minutesmins
Inactive Time10 minutesmins
Total Time34 minutesmins
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24
Calories: 163kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
1cupunsalted buttersoftened (2 sticks)
1cupgranulated sugar
1tablespoonlight brown sugarpacked
1large eggroom temperature
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
2cupsall-purpose flour
½teaspoonbaking powder
¼teaspoonsalt
½heaping cup sprinklesoptional
Instructions
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg, vanilla, and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
Add the flour, baking powder, salt and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the sprinkles and beat momentarily to incorporate (the cookies can be made without sprinkles and baked as traditional plain sugar cookies if you prefer plain cookies or prefer to decorate them after baking). Transfer dough to airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and up to 5 days, before baking.
Preheat oven to 350F, line baking sheets with a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mats, parchment, or spray with cooking spray; set aside. Using a 2-inch cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough or about 1.10 to 1.20 ounces by weight), form dough mounds and place on prepared baking sheet. Roll each mound into a smooth ball, and space balls about 2 inches apart on baking sheet (8 to 10 per tray). Use your hand to flatten the balls or for neater cookies, spray a flat-bottomed drinking glass with cooking spray and use it to flatten all balls to 3/4-inches in height, measuring about 2 inches in diameter. Re-spray with cooking spray as needed to prevent sticking. It's very tempting to over-flatten the balls, but don't because the cookies will spread like pancakes and become too flat and crispy while they bake. Err on the side of under- rather than over-flattening.
Bake for 9 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges, even if slightly underbaked in the center; the tops will not be browned and should be pale. Watch them very closely after 7 minutes as sugar cookies burn easily and I recommend not cooking longer than ten minutes because cookies will darken, crisp, and firm up as they cool (The cookies shown in the photos were baked for 9 minutes and have chewy and slightly crisp edges with soft centers). Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.