These hands down are the best sugar cookies!
What makes this recipe so good?
Use Pale Yellow Butter
Using butter and keeping the dough chilled is the secret to great taste.
These Sables, French for sugar cookies, are so luscious.
Good ingredients are the basic to excellent food, especially in baking. Only butter will do.
Hankering to Bake
This season, I just have a hankering to BAKE! Cookies, cakes. Lots and lots this Christmas.
The family’s coming. Sweet times for Christmas.
Bring out the sprinkles. Put on some Christmas music and bring in the kids!
It’s time to make cookies!
I have included every step with detail for the inexperienced baker. Honestly, what did I ever do without parchment paper for cookie baking?? Do the final mixing of the dough with your hands.
Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unbleached flour level the top off.
- 1/4 cup cake flour regular white is okay
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 stick chilled unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 TBS cold water plus droplets if needed
Instructions
- Prepare work surface with a light flouring
- Using a food processor, pluse flours, salt, and butter until blended well, about 1 minute
- Add sugar, process into mixture
- Add egg yolk, vanilla, and water
- Process for a few seconds until dough balls up on the sides
- Remove and put on your prepared work surface
- Working the dough into a ball then push out small pieces smashing working the dough so the dough is gently worked throughly
- Shape the dough back into a cake shape
- Wrap in plastic wrap, chill until cold and hard
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- When the dough is not sticky and still cold, half it
- Cover half of the dough and return to the refrigerator
- Lightly flour the top of dough and rolling pin. Be careful to not be heavy handed with the flour.
- Quickly roll out to desired thickness
- For crispier, roll to 1/8 in thickness
- Cut out cookies while the remaining dough is chilling
- Bake on nonstick cookie sheet or parchment paper
- If you don't want the cookies puffy, pick gently with a fork
- If the dough splits, push together patting it smooth or lightly roll
- Add sprinkles or other decorations for baking
- Bake on middle rack for 8 -10 minutes at 400 degrees
- If thinly rolled, gentle remove cookies to rack for cooling
- Dough will keep 2 -3 days. It also freezes well.
Well-loved recipe from Julia Child The Way to Cook
P.S. The dough with less sugar also makes wonderful tartlet and sweet pie crusts.
Best ever!
Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good.
These look and sound delicious, Linda! I always use my old Betty Crocker cookbook. The page with my sugar cookie recipe is so stained! I received the cookbook as a wedding present so it’s almost 50 years old! I really need to get busy. I have bought the kisses for the peanut butter blossoms, though!
I hope you have a wonderful time baking with your family and have an absolutely lovely holiday season!
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Marsha, mine is that old too plus I have my mom’s that is even older. Baking can be enjoyable anadsurporisingly, restful. Hope all is well and peaceful for you this holiday season.