Super thick, buttery, and perfectly chewy, these are my ideal Sugar Cookies.

Currently, today’s climate is discombobulated. Today’s society has been formed by a “YOLO” mentality, which morphed into the “Live your best life!!!” mantra, and these sentiments do not always coincide with the lessons we learn in childhood. Be kind, put yourself in another’s shoes, have and maintain respect while still managing to disagree about the more contraversial subjects. In overcompensation, holiday music and trees have sprung up around the country like a tidal wave before Halloween was even a glimmer in this calendar year’s eye. Trust me, I know, as one of my neighbors has an incredible light show they put up every year and it made its appearance a couple weeks before Halloween. It seems as though there is a race to push out the year 2020 as quickly as possible, with tinsel and trees ushering everything out before Thanksgiving even makes its appearance.

Thanksgiving, arguably the greatest holiday of them all as there is NO pressure involved other than creating memories with family over a beautiful meal, is famous for all the sides and crazily indulgent pies. As a child, I actively disregarded the traditional turkey, pies, and typical sides in favor of my Babcia’s New England Clam Chowder. That chowder is legitimately the only dish I remember truly consuming, though of course I must have eaten bits and pieces of other offerings. I actively avoided pies if I could, thank you very much to my dislike of pie crust, and instead would celebrate internally if there were any cookies that happened to be offered that year. Peanut Butter Blossoms, Chocolate Chip Cookies, even brownies were beloved by this little Korean.

just sweet enough, this Sugar Cookie is perfectly balanced.

One type of cookie that I’ve always tended to disregard as boring, bland, and not typically worth it, are sugar cookies. Too often they were tough, overly sweet, or bland, sometimes managing to be the trifecta of all three at the same time. Most often you see sugar cookies that are rolled out and cut into cute little shapes, iced and then they’re rock hard by the time you actually get to eat them. They just were not my favorite, and I would happily pass by them for something chocolate covered.

However, my interest was piqued in the sugar cookie and its potential one morning by my infusion nurse rhapsodizing about her family’s favorite bakery sugar cookie. She was describing the texture, not unlike a great, chewy/soft chocolate chip cookie, but lacking the chocolate chips and it wasn’t something that was too sweet or bland. I was intrigued, as this was the type of sugar cookie I felt I could solidly get behind and love. A couple of weeks later, I received a gift of these sugar cookies (with a couple of chocolate chip ones too!) and my mind was blown. These cookies, which had traveled across the country and I consumed them not on their bake date, were incredible. They were better than the chocolate chip ones, which…never happens in my world. Never. Soft, buttery, salty, sugary, and just…incredible.

I portion out these little guys to “marinate” in the fridge before baking. It transforms the flavors, deepening and enhancing the nuances the longer they sit.

Thus began the personal quest to recreate them as closely as possible. I thought perhaps, since the cookies were so soft/chewy that a brown sugar based cookie would help me achieve that texture, however the first batch was not what I was looking for. Caramel tones dominated the flavor profile, and the cookies were a gorgeous brown that were not near the pale golden cookies I had been presented with. I figured perhaps, if using just a white sugar in the cookie, that perhaps to get that texture I was looking for I would need up the fat content. The cookie I was recreating had a very prominent butter flavor that balanced beautifully with the vanilla notes, so I knew the bakery used butter and most likely did not use something like crisco. Crisco makes cookies soft, but often times they are TOO soft, and not quite the direction I was looking to go towards. Utilizing the extra fat from one extra egg yolk created the perfect texture.

Since these cookies have so few ingredients, I urge you to use the best of what you can afford in terms of a very good, very fragrant Pure Vanilla Extract. Imitation vanilla will not cut it as the butter, sugar, and vanilla are the bases of these spectacular little sugar cookies. If you are a member at Costco, their Pure Vanilla Extract is a great investment and I love all the different floral notes in the extract. I’ve used both high quality and more run of the mill flour in these cookies, and find both work well, though the high quality flour tends to lead to more consistent texture and fluffiness.

You can bake these cookies immediately, but I highly, highly recommend letting them sit overnight (at the minimum) to let the flavors meld and develop before baking. Chemically speaking, the ingredients meld and ripen into a deeper, more flavorful cookie in the end. I’ve baked them at 24, 36, and 72 hours after making the dough and prefer the flavor at the 72 hour mark, but it’s really dealer’s choice in when you bake them. There are some great debates about whether you scoop the cookies before letting the dough ripen in the fridge or after, and if you are going to ease of baking, I say absolutely scoop before. However, if you plan on letting the cookies sit in the fridge till the 72 hour mark, I would say let the full batch ripen in the mixing bowl, then scoop them out the day of baking as the air will slightly dry out the dough in that length of time. The difference is minimal though, so it is really up to you with what works for you.

These Sugar Cookies need no additions of frosting, sprinkles, or any other types of bedazzling. They are perfect as is.

The finished cookie is pretty much identical to the sugar cookie my nurse gifted to me. I baked a batch for her and her family and received confirmation that I nailed the copycat recipe on the head!! It is buttery, fragrant with vanilla, and just sweet enough. The texture is soft, with a toothsome thickness to the finished cookie that is just the right amount of crisp on the edges. To me, this is the new standard of what a classic sugar cookie should be, as it needs no frosting, no rolling in additional sugar, nor any decorative sprinkles. For this Thanksgiving, if these little cookies make an appearance among all the decadent pies and rich desserts, I guarantee you the simplicity and simple deliciousness will more than please the overworked palates of the young and old.

Sugar Cookies

Author: Iris Anna Gohn

Servings: 16 to 18 cookies

These Sugar Cookies are almost obnoxiously easy to throw together. There are only a few ingredients, so take care to use the highest quality ingredients you can afford as the flavors are very simple.

I always scoop out my cookies, cover, and let them ripen in the fridge before baking. If you are looking to bake same day, you can let them set up in the fridge for two hours before baking as that will have the cookies be a thicker cookie than if you immediately bake - they do not spread quite as much.

You can freeze the cookie dough balls for up to 3 months. I love to always have cookie dough in the freezer so I can have cookies on demand. I just pop a few of the frozen cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for a couple extra minutes and they come out perfectly.

Ingredients

3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
1 Cup Butter, room temperature (I use Salted butter, Costco brand. If using unsalted butter, add 1/2 Tsp more salt)
1 1/3 Cup Granulated White Sugar
1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract (I use Costco brand, Pure Vanilla)
1 Egg + 1 Egg Yolk

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a stand mixer on medium high speed (or using a hand mixer), Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. This should take 2-3 minutes.
Add in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. Mix on medium until thoroughly incorporated, roughly 1-2 minutes.
Add half the reserved dry ingredients, and turn mixer on low. When the flour starts incorporating in, add the remaining dry ingredients and mix till just combined.
Using a large cookie scoop (3 Tbsp OXO Large cookie scoop), scoop out 16 cookies onto a foil lined baking sheet. Cover with foil and set dough in fridge overnight to mature (up to 3 days).

To Bake:

Preheat oven to 375 F
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Bake chilled cookies for 15-16 minutes (6 per pan), rotating pans halfway. The tops will be dry to the touch, and you will not see any “wet” looking centers. The bottoms, if you check, will be very lightly golden, though the color will deepen as they cool.
Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on hot tray, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.