A Sweet Adventure: Trying Out a New Sugar Cookie Recipe with My Grandson, Jack!

Image from original recipe posted on Facebook

Hey there, fellow food enthusiasts! If you’re anything like me, the joy of discovering a new recipe online is hard to resist! Recently, my six-year-old grandson, Jack, and I stumbled upon a drop sugar cookie recipe that caught my eye on Facebook. The image was stunning—those beautifully shaped and colored cookies looked like they were calling my name! So, naturally, we had to give it a shot. Here’s how it went down!

The Recipe Breakdown

Here’s the recipe we found:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• Additional granulated sugar for rolling

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners and set them aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), add the softened butter and sugar. Beat them together for about 2 minutes until the mixture is light and creamy.

3. Next, add in the egg and vanilla extract, mixing until everything is well combined.

4. Now it’s time to mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir it all together until you achieve a nice soft cookie dough. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed!

5. Scoop the dough by 1.5 tablespoon portions and roll them into balls. Roll these balls in a small bowl of additional granulated sugar. Sweet, right?

6. Place the cookie dough balls at least 2 inches apart on your prepared baking sheets. Bake those beauties for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the tops are crinkled and the edges are just lightly golden.

7. Let them cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

The Baking Experience

The First Attempt: - A Lesson on Internet Recipes

As we casually browsed through the recipe, I noticed that the proportions of flour, butter, and sugar seemed a bit off. Typically, I use 200 grams of sugar and 275 grams of flour per stick of butter or margarine. But you know what? We decided to follow the recipe as written. After all, sometimes the best discoveries come from just going with the flow!

Once the cookies came out of the oven, my kitchen was filled with the most delightful aroma. However, the cookies looked nothing like the beautiful image that was posted. The flavor was wonderful, but their appearance was unacceptable. I mean, who doesn’t want their cookies to be as attractive as they are delicious? The cookies spread to fill the cookie sheet and were as flat as pancakes.

The Second Attempt: Proportions Matter

Determined to achieve that picture-perfect cookie, we made some adjustments to the recipe. We increased the flour, added an egg yolk, and left out the baking soda for my second attempt.

The results? A familiar smell wafted through the kitchen again, but this time, we were both filled with anticipation! When we pulled them out of the oven, we were greeted with golden, dome-shaped cookies! Not quite perfect, but getting closer!

The Third Attempt: The Quest for Perfection

In our third attempt at perfecting the cookie recipe, we consulted my earlier post, “Why Do My Cookies Dome While Baking?” and made this notable change: we swapped out baking powder for baking soda. This adjustment is based on the understanding that baking powder typically causes more “doming” in cookies compared to baking soda. We’re eager to see if this tweak leads us closer to cookie perfection!

After mixing and baking, we observed some doming still present, though not as pronounced as in our second attempt. Additionally, we noticed that the edges of the cookies were jagged and irregular in some areas. However, the texture and flavor were on point! Following this, Jack and I sat down to discuss our next steps for improving this recipe.

To identify potential issues, we revisited my previous blog post titled “Why Do My Cookies Bake Up With Jagged Edges?” It became clear that the temperature at which we baked the cookies might have been a contributing factor.

The Fourth Attempt: If You Can’t Stand the Heat

After determining that the remaining issue with our cookies might be due to an excessively high baking temperature, we returned to mixing. We made no changes to the actual ingredients but reduced the oven temperature by 25 degrees and adjusted the baking time to add three more minutes to accommodate the lower temperature. We observed the following result: The cookies were BEAUTIFUL, TASTY, and had the perfect TEXTURE.

The Final Recipe Breakdown

Here’s the recipe we found that worked best after our adjustment:

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter (softened)

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

• 363 grams all-purpose flour

• zest from ½ of an orange

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• Additional granulated sugar for rolling

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners and set them aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), add the softened butter, orange zest, and sugar. Beat them together for about 2 minutes until the mixture is light and creamy.

3. Next, add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, mixing until everything is well combined.

4. Now it’s time to mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix it all together until you achieve a nice soft cookie dough. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed!

5. Scoop the dough by 1.5 tablespoon portions and roll them into balls. Roll these balls in a small bowl of additional granulated sugar. Sweet, right?

6. Place the cookie dough balls at least 2 inches apart on your prepared baking sheets. Bake those beauties for 14 – 16 minutes, or until the tops are crinkled and the edges are just lightly golden brown.

7. Let them cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Final Thoughts

Baking is all about experimentation and learning from our mistakes. Each batch taught us something new, and we loved the process! We encourage you all to try out this recipe, but don’t be afraid to tweak it to suit your taste. The kitchen is our playground, after all! If you have any tips or tricks for perfecting sugar cookies, we would love to hear them! Happy baking, everyone!

PS: Today (the day this blog is posted) is Jack’s 7th birthday! Happy Birthday, Jack.