Sugar Cookie Recipe
How to Make Top Sugar Cookies
by Robin Nalaka Daundaratne
I live in a small town and the whole community is like a family and share knowledge and happiness whenever we can. As a baker, I always get the question of how to make sugar cookies quite often within my own circle as well as from our lovely community. Especially, from parents who want to make them for children, who are in fact the biggest in-home-market. These, cookies are not only popular in North America but around the world due to the simplicity of both needed ingredients and cooking/baking method. Also, they are made with numerous shapes, colors, and frostings with various flavors. This versatility of Sugar Cookies is the reason for popularity making then part of almost all occasions from tea parties, birthdays to Christmas and many other special celebrations. This recipe is dedicated to all my beloved folks around the world who love these tasty munchies.
Gather following ingredients and I will guide you through this easy sugar cookie recipe in no time.
What to Gather
Ingredient Amount
Flour 500g
Butter (room temperature) 200g
Granulated sugar 250g
Eggs 1
Whole Milk 2tbsp
Vanilla 7.5ml (1 ½ tsp)
Baking Soda/powder 1 ½ tbsp
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Sugar Cookies Baking Directions
by Nalaka Daundaratne
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Step 01:
Add the butter at room temperature and the sugar into your mixer blend at lower speed until evenly combined. Then, for around 30-40 secs, increase the speed to medium/high level to give a little fluffy touch to the batter
Step 02:
Now, introduce milk, egg and vanilla and proceed mixing at lower speed. You don’t have to do this for a longer period. Just make sure to allow the ingredients are spread uniformly.
Step 03:
Time to sift-in flour and baking powder. You can do either all at once or as parts. However, if you are hand mixing, it is preferred that you add as divided portions to make it easier to mix well. Refer to the hand mixing tips below for more information.
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Step 04: How to Form Sugar Cookies
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You can form the shape and size of your sugar cookies in numerous ways. You can simply make small dough balls between palms and press down to make simple flat cookies. Then, take some fine sugar onto a plate, apply a layer of milk with a brush and flip the cookies topside on to sugar gently to let it glaze. Make sure to avoid or minimize sugar being coated on the back side of the cookie as when baking it might melt and stick to your pan/baking sheet, sometimes. However, this is an optional step.
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If you want to give them a neat and professional touch, prepare a slightly floured working surface and make a roll out of the dough using hands in rolling motion. Then, brush with a thin layer of milk and sprinkle sugar around the formed dough-cylinder until you see its evenly coated. Now, take dough divider or a suitable knife and slice the rolled-up dough into circular sugar cookies.
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Sugar cookies are probably the once that are made in variations of designs using molds or creative craftmanship of the baker. So, if you want or have, use shaped cookie cutters of your choice to form them. To do that, roll the dough with a rolling pin up to your preferred thickness and use your cutters to make them. Remember, you can re-roll and use the leftover cookie batter ends to make the greatest number of cookies and to prevent unnecessary waste.
Step 05
Now, bake them at 375o F or 175o Celsius for around 8 to 10 minutes. As I always say, know your oven and watch out for over-baking. Once done, let them cool down before you attempt to remove from the pan or baking sheet. Also, if you plan to decorate them with icing or any other topping of your choice, let them come to room temperature to do so. Hope this recipe was useful and bon appetite!
How to Store Sugar Cookies Properly
by Nalaka Daundaratne
If you intend to freeze the dough for future baking needs, after step 05 you can send the trays to fridge for 1 hour and then move then to your freezer bags or containers. You could use them up to 10-12 months if you packed them airtight. However, you can also freeze the uncut dough cylinder if you prefer. Just make sure to thaw them well before you make again.
Once baked, these cookies are good for three days in room temperature when placed appropriately in a sealed container with limited exposure to humidity. However, in a fridge you can go up to five days. So, you made too many, freeze some and bake later to have fresher ones whenever you need. My niece who lives in Alberta visits me yearly and she loves these sugar cookies so much. So, I always make sure to keep a stock of unbaked once just for her each time she comes to stay the summer with me.
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Brown Sugar Cookie Recipe
How to Make Best Brown Sugar Cookies
by Nalaka Daundaratne
These cookies made with less refined brown sugar gives them a unique taste compared to standard sugar cookies. What I really like about is that how you feel a slight chewiness (depending on how you make them) and the noticeable sugar cane taste following each nibble. However, although these are very much popular from years, I rarely see them in bakeries around here. While I don’t have knowledge about other countries, I am pretty sure that if you will start making them for commercial purpose, surely there will be a great market in North America due to more popularity among people and less availability in bakeries.
Although brown sugar delights have a distinctive taste in the sugar cookies family, it's the same basic recipe with the introduction of brown sugar as an ingredient. If you have an option to select out of different qualities of sugars, pick the most darkest in color as more the unrefined, more it will be tastier.
What to Find
Ingredient Amount
General purpose Flour 450g
Butter/shortening (room temperature) 220g
Brown sugar 375g
Eggs 1
Milk 2tbsp
Vanilla 7.5ml (1 ½ tsp)
Baking Soda/powder 1 tbsp
Cooking Instructions of Your Brown Sugar Cookies
by Nalaka Daundaratne
As mentions this recipe is a derivation of basic sugar cookie recipe. So, now that you know what new to add to the ingredient list, simply go ahead with the same steps of how to make information given in the standard recipe. Also, follow the same containing, refrigerating and freezing instructions given in How to Store your Cookies section to preserve your delights according to your need.
Chocolate Cookie Recipe
Guide to Best Chocolate Cookies
by Nalaka Daundaratne
Who doesn’t like a chocolate cookie with a glass of cold milk, right? Growing up in countryside, these homemade delights were our regular treats. I am talking about late 80s where the fancy markets are booming, yet with limited access to people. This recipe is of my grandmother who lived in Manitoba. I can proudly say that watching her baking these inspired this small-town baker Nalaka Daundaratne to learn and love baking. However, I always wondered why they are hard to find in bakeries and stores. Today, I mostly find them in some of the assorted cookie boxes in supermarkets only.
These chocolate delights also belong to sugar cookie family and quite easy to make. Certainly, this recipe is “a must” that you should add to your everyday cooking skills if you have kids or family loves cookies and need to make quick munchies.
What you will need
Ingredient Amount
Cake flour/all-purpose 450g
Fine cocoa powder 50g
Salted or unsalted Butter 250g
Fine sugar 300g
Eggs 1
Whole milk 2tbsp
Vanilla extracts (optional) 7.5ml (1 ¼ tsp)
Leavening (Baking powder/soda) 1 1/4 tbsp
Your Chocolate Cookies Baking Guidance
by Nalaka Daundaratne
Step 1
Using a paddle hook, start creaming butter and sugar at lower speed and gradually increase to medium level. Stop beating when the batter is smooth and little fluffier. You can always use a medium sized spatula to hand-mix if you done have an electric one. Ideally, turning over method is the best way to mix manually.
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Step 2
Now, add milk, vanilla and the whole egg and continue to mix at lower speed until all ingredients are well blended.
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Step 3
Now add the rest of the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix at lower speed. Ideally, sift cocoa powder, flour, and the leavening before hand or directly into the bowl. Further, with an electric mixer, you can add all at once. However, for hand mixing, it is better to add the flour-mix little by little for it incorporate effectively.
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Step 4
Now, once you have a uniform dough, time to form your cookies. Lightly flour or grease your working surface. Then, divide the dough into halves and take one by one and start rolling them to form even and perfect rolls. Now, brush the with milk and sprinkle with sugar to coat them generously. After, take a thin dough cutter or a slightly greased thin knife and the roll into your cookies of desired thickness. Ideally, 5-10mm. Finally, place them on your prepared baking tray with baking sheet. While rolling method is the most common, there are number of shapes and size you can make them. Please refer to How to Form You Sugar Cookies to find out some of those methods
Step 5
Storing is like with all sugar cookies and please read How to Store Sugar Cookies given with Basic Sugar Cookies Recipe. Also, for any extra clarifications, please contact your baker Nalaka Daudnaratne by filling a form or send any query directly to info@bakingtreats.ca