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One of my girls sprinkling Sanding Sugar onto the cut sugar cookies on a baking sheet.

Crisp-Buttery Sugar Cookies

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This Sugar Cookie Recipe is the buttery crisp version of the typical soft and chewy sugar cookie, most of you probably know. They still hold their shape and taste amazing. Make it ahead of time or the day of. It doesn’t matter, this sugar cookie dough just needs a couple of hours to chill and you’re ready to go.

  • Total Time: 3 hours
  • Yield: 36 cookies 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 1/4 cups rice flour (not glutinous)
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/8 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 2 eggs (room temperature)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Whisk together flours baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside
  2. Blend together butter and shortening until fluffy then add sugar and continue mixing until well incorporated. Add vanilla and continue mixing.
  3. Slowly add the flour to the butter (about ½ cup or so at a time), mix until incorporated.
  4. For Cut Out Cookies:If you plan on cutting shapes out, separate the dough into two equal portions and form them into flat, round discs. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. You can also chill it overnight as well. If you are chilling longer than that, I recommend putting the wrapped dough discs in an airtight container or ziplock bag to ensure no air can get in and dry the dough out.
  5. Once it chilled and you are ready to cut out shapes, remove one dough disc from the refrigerator. Place it on a well-floured surface and roll until it’s about ¼ to ½” thick whichever suits your taste. One note: thicker cookies will be a bit softer!
  6. Next, use your favorite cookie cutters to cut the rolled sugar cookies into the shapes you want. Rework any scraps you have or just roll them into small 1.5 inch balls and press gently for simple circle cookies.
  7. For Simple Cookies (not cut out): Using a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop and set on a lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart or so. Gently press down on the balls of dough.
  8. Before Baking Decorating (you will do this before the next step: You could use letter stamps and stamp names or sayings. You can also use Sanding sugar instead of (or with frosting). To ensure the sugar sticks, use a pastry brush and brush the unbaked sugar cookies with a little bit of milk or cream before using the sanding sugar.
  9. Either way you choose, cut out or simple cookies: freeze the ready to bake cookies for 15-20 minutes, about the time with will take for the oven to pre-heat.
  10. When ready to bake: Preheat oven to 325°F and bake for 17-20 min until edges are golden brown.
  11. Once cooled you can store away OR frost with royal icing or frosting, then store once frosting has dried.

Notes

Recommended Tools

  • A standing mixer or hand-held mixer will yield the best results!
  • Offset Spatulas for lifting cut cookies from your counter
  • silicone mats for baking the cookies. I have found nothing compares to baking on silicone mats, not even parchment paper. So if you haven’t invested in them. I highly recommend it.
  • Airtight containers or storage bags for storing your cookies. (See Cookie Storage for details on how to store your finished cookies and cookie dough)

 

Tips to Help the Prevent Cookie Spread:

There are many reasons sugar cookies could spread, here are a few and how to prevent them:

  • Bake cookies on a silicone mat: Additional oil/grease can cause sugar cookies to spread. Instead, use a silicone mat, my personal recommendation, or parchment paper to prevent sticking and help the cookies keep their shape.
  • Don’t let the dough get warm. Keeping the dough cold until you put the cookies in the oven is key. As the butter warms it spreads, so keeping it cool is to stop this.
  • Don’t overwork the dough. You can get two rounds of “rolling” from this sugar cookie recipe before the dough becomes warm and overworked. To help with this, you can put it back in the fridge, or simply make circle cookies.
  • Check your oven temperature. Get a cheap thermometer to be sure your oven is “really” 350 degrees F. Not all ovens heat to the temperature they display. Know your oven. If it’s baking lower than it’s set to it could cause the cookies to spread.
  • Use fresh ingredients. If your eggs or baking powder are not fresh the cookies could spread. Be sure to use fresh ingredients.

Cookie Storage

  • If you’re baking lots of sugar cookies for the holidays or for a cookie decorating party, you can freeze the baked cookies for up to two months! Store them in an airtight, freezer-friendly container (if you’re stacking cookies, you might want to separate the layers with parchment paper). Simply take them out and let them come to room temp on a drying rack before frosting and decorating.
  • If you’re storing unfrosted cookies that are plain or baked with sanding sugar: Simply store the sugar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 weeks. No need to separate anything.
  • If you’re storing frosted cookies: Wait for the frosting to harden first. Then store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 weeks. If you are stacking them, you might need to separate the layers with parchment paper, depending on the frosting you use.
  • Frozen decorated sugar cookies will last up to two months in the freezer as long as they are stored in an airtight container and/or wrapped very well.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Calories: 118
  • Sugar: 6
  • Sodium: 35
  • Fat: 6
  • Saturated Fat: 2
  • Carbohydrates: 15
  • Fiber: 0.3
  • Protein: 1
  • Cholesterol: 16

Find it online: https://www.jenn-smith.com/crisp-buttery-sugar-cookies/