The Best Sugar Cookie

[JeanneCake]

Try the No Fail recipe without the baking powder, and use some flour when you roll out the well-chilled dough. I use a similar recipe (it has a little milk in it) from Toba Garrett and once I stopped adding the baking powder, I had no trouble with the slight puff that can occur. I use parchment on the sheet pans so I don't have to wash them as frequently and there's no sticking.

[meredithla]

I think the icing on the cookie you linked to helps to make it look like it has sharper edges. Martha Stewart's sugar cookie recipe is a nice one.

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I would also suggest Martha Stewarts recipe - the problem is that I can't find the one that I like on her website. She had an all cookie magazine out a few years ago - if you can find the recipe from it that calls for 5 cups of flour and a pound of butter, that's the one I like. If you can't, I'd give one of the other ones on her site a shot.

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I think I have that issue. I'll check it out, thanks!

[meredithla]

Try the No Fail recipe without the baking powder, and use some flour when you roll out the well-chilled dough.  I use a similar recipe (it has a little milk in it) from Toba Garrett and once I stopped adding the baking powder, I had no trouble with the slight puff that can occur.  I use parchment on the sheet pans so I don't  have to wash them as frequently and there's no sticking.

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I think I'll try this one K8, without the baking powder as Jeanne suggests. Thanks everyone and I'll report back!

[sugar plum]

Every year I use the Martha Stewart recipe. It never fails me. It's from her 2001 Holiday Cookies issue. The one on her Everyday Food website is basically the same as the one in her magazine except it's halved:

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?ty...&catid=cat17924

[ninetofive]

I've had good luck with the sugar cookie recipe from Cook's Illustrated 2005 holiday baking issue. They don't spread and they taste good!

[LittleIsland]

Try the No Fail recipe without the baking powder, and use some flour when you roll out the well-chilled dough.  I use a similar recipe (it has a little milk in it) from Toba Garrett and once I stopped adding the baking powder, I had no trouble with the slight puff that can occur.  I use parchment on the sheet pans so I don't  have to wash them as frequently and there's no sticking.

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Why would cookies need baking powder? And, if I wanted to make gingerbread men that didn't puff or spread, would I leave the baking powder completely out of the recipe, or reduce it? And what about the baking soda?

[JeanneCake]

I use Rose Levy Beranbaum's gingerbread cookie recipe, it's the best one out there IMHO; it calls for baking soda (no powder) which is there I think more for managing the acidity of the batter than for leavening. For this dough, I make it in big batches, then scoop out a big scraper-full and plop it on a parchment sheet dusted with flour. I roll it around on the flour for a few turns, then sprinkle a little more on the top of the dough, then put another parchment sheet on, and roll it out to the thickness I want. Into the cooler it goes and it's ready for cutting into shapes, etc. I've noticed that I have a tendancy to not use as much flour so with this dough, if it is not well mixed enough, it will puff and bake poorly; when I use liberal amounts of flour it bakes perfectly, with no puff and no spreading. And then I go and gild the lily by dipping these guys in chocolate before decorating them!

Edited for typos

Edited December 13, 2006 by JeanneCake (log)

[achevres]

I've made the No-Fail cookies several times and they are always a big hit. The taste and texture are really good. The wax paper trick is great -- no mess and can you roll and re-roll. If these will be eaten (and not just for decoration) I would try half the recipe with the baking powder before making a whole batch without. They are not called no-fail for nothing. Place the cut-out cookies in the freezer a few minutes before baking to keep the edges defined. And definitely do not bake warm dough. Good luck!

[ruthcooks]

Here's my favorite food tip of all time: roll out cookies using powdered sugar (10x, confectioner's, icing sugar, whatever you call it) instead of flour. Re-rolled cookies get more crispy instead of getting tough.

I find this easier than messing about with paper and chilling and peeling.

[onetoughcookie]

Here's my favorite food tip of all time:  roll out cookies using powdered sugar (10x, confectioner's, icing sugar, whatever you call it) instead of flour.  Re-rolled cookies get more crispy instead of getting tough.

I find this easier than messing about with paper and chilling and peeling.

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For what it's worth, I only roll my dough between parchment sheets. It's clean and I don't worry

about toughening the dough (although the 10x idea is a good one). Also, I mark on my

parchments how many times I've re-rolled....2 is my limit. That said, if there's a small amount

of twice rolled dough left that I don't use, I will incorporate it with a fresh batch of dough.

And, because I fully ice my cookies, I never worry about them losing moisture.

I also find freezing the dough is perfect for retaining the sharp edges. After I roll the dough, the

sheets are put into the freezer. I then cut, place on baking sheets and refreeze til I'm ready to bake them off. I think they come out very nicely.

My customers love my sugar cookies, which I offer in vanilla and chocolate. For gingerbread, I use

Cooks' Illustrated gingersnaps. They're spicy and delicious!

[blackcat]

Hi All

Does anyone have a favorite recipe for an old fashioned drop sugar cookie?

I'm looking for a cookie that is chewy not cakey. I don't want it too flat, I'd like a bit of puff to it.

I just tried Martha Stewart's recipe

www.marthastewart.com/old-fashioned-sugar-cookies.

I made the dough last night , portioned it out and froze it. This morning I baked off a couple. They came out too flat and had a slight greasiness. I made sure i didn't overbeat the dough. Should I add more flour to the recipe? BP?

Thanks

blackcat

[hummingbirdkiss]

this is a very good ..very easy and really reliable recipe

sugar cookie