The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (289 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Traditional recipes for sugar cookies require obsessive attention to detail. The butter must be at precisely the right temperature and it must be creamed to the proper degree of airiness. Slight variations in measures can result in cookies that spread or become brittle and hard upon cooling. We didn’t want a cookie that depended on such a finicky process; we wanted an approachable recipe for great sugar cookies that anyone could make anytime. We melted the butter so our sugar cookie dough could easily be mixed together with a spoon—no more fussy creaming. Replacing a portion of the melted butter with vegetable oil ensured a chewy cookie without affecting flavor. And incorporating an unusual addition, cream cheese, into the cookie dough kept our cookies tender, while the slight tang of the cream cheese made for a rich, not-too-sweet flavor.

MAKES ABOUT 24 COOKIES

The final dough will be slightly softer than most cookie dough. For best results, handle the dough as briefly and gently as possible when shaping the cookies. Overworking the dough will result in flatter cookies.

1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.

2.
Place 1¹⁄
₂
cups sugar and cream cheese in large bowl. Place remaining ¹⁄
₃
cup sugar in shallow baking dish or pie plate and set aside. Pour warm butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk to combine (some small lumps of cream cheese will remain but will smooth out later). Whisk in oil until incorporated. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; continue to whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix with rubber spatula until soft, homogeneous dough forms.

3.
Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls. Working in batches, roll half of dough balls in sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet; repeat with remaining dough balls. Using bottom of greased measuring cup, flatten dough balls until 2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle tops of cookies evenly with sugar remaining in shallow dish for rolling, using 2 teaspoons for each baking sheet. (Discard remaining sugar.)

4.
Bake 1 sheet at a time until edges of cookies are set and beginning to brown, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes; transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool to room temperature.

Add ¹⁄
₄
teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¹⁄
₄
teaspoon ground ginger, ¹⁄
₄
teaspoon ground cardamom, ¹⁄
₄
teaspoon ground cloves, and pinch pepper to sugar and cream cheese mixture and reduce vanilla to 1 teaspoon.

Whisk ¹⁄
₂
cup sweetened shredded coconut, chopped fine, into flour mixture in step 1. Add 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest to sugar and cream cheese mixture and substitute 1 tablespoon lime juice for vanilla.

Add ¹⁄
₄
cup finely chopped toasted hazelnuts to sugar and cream cheese mixture. Instead of melting butter, heat it in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Immediately pour butter over sugar and cream cheese mixture and proceed with recipe as directed, increasing milk to 2 tablespoons and omitting vanilla.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Often, snickerdoodles are just sugar cookies in disguise, flavored too generously with vanilla and without the satisfying chewiness that defines a proper snickerdoodle. We wanted a snickerdoodle that met all our criteria: a texture we could sink our teeth into, a slightly tangy flavor, and a crinkly cinnamon-coated surface. We found cream of tartar and baking soda to be essential ingredients not only because the cream of tartar adds the characteristic tangy flavor, but because they effected a rise followed by a collapse that resulted in a crinkly appearance. We opted out of adding vanilla to the cookies so that the tanginess would be more pronounced. Many snickerdoodle recipes call for shortening, an ingredient that we generally dismiss because of its lack of flavor. But in the case of this cookie, shortening plays a key role in obtaining the right texture—we found that cookies made with a small amount of shortening along with butter spread less during baking than cookies made with all butter. Translation: Snickerdoodles made with shortening were thicker and had a heartier chew. Rolling the cookie dough in cinnamon sugar before baking gave our cookies an authentic finish.

MAKES ABOUT 24 COOKIES

Cream of tartar is essential to the flavor of these cookies and it works in combination with the baking soda to give the cookies lift; do not substitute baking powder. For best results, bake only one sheet of cookies at a time.

1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine ¹⁄
₄
cup sugar and cinnamon in shallow dish or pie plate. Whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl.

2.
Using stand mixer, beat butter, shortening, and remaining 1¹⁄
₂
cups sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.

3.
Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Give dough final stir to ensure that no flour pockets remain.

4.
Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls. Working in batches, roll half of dough balls in cinnamon sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet spaced 2 inches apart; repeat with remaining dough balls.

5.
Bake 1 sheet at a time until edges of cookies are set and just beginning to brown but centers are still soft and puffy, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. (Cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone.)

6.
Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and let cool to room temperature.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Pecan sandies run the gamut from greasy and bland to dry and crumbly. We wanted a pecan sandie with a tender but crisp texture and sandy melt-in-the-mouth character. It should taste of butter, pecan, and brown sugar. Some recipes use oil in place of butter for a sandy texture. We found that while oil did indeed yield the desired texture, the flavor was abysmal, so we stuck with butter. We tried both light and dark brown sugars, settling on light, and to tenderize our cookies, we swapped out some of the brown sugar for confectioners’ sugar. A whole egg made for a too-sticky dough, so we settled on just a yolk. A rich pecan flavor was obtained by toasting the nuts and then grinding them in a food processor. While we were grinding the nuts, it occurred to us that we might as well use the food processor to mix the dough as well. After briefly kneading the dough together out of the food processor, we shaped it into dough logs to chill, so that we could slice and bake the dough for pecan sandies with clean, crisp edges.

MAKES ABOUT 32 COOKIES

Don’t substitute another type of sugar for the confectioners’ sugar—it is important for a tender, sandy texture.

1.
Reserve 32 of prettiest pecan halves for garnishing. Process remaining cups pecans with brown sugar and confectioners’ sugar in food processor until nuts are finely ground, about 20 seconds. Add flour and salt and process to combine, about 10 seconds.

2.
Add butter pieces and process until mixture resembles damp sand and rides up sides of bowl, about 20 seconds. With processor running, add egg yolk and process until dough comes together into rough ball, about 20 seconds.

3.
Transfer dough to clean counter, knead briefly, and divide into 2 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch log, about 2 inches thick. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

4.
Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

5.
Working with 1 dough log at a time, remove dough log from plastic and, using chef’s knife, slice into ³⁄
₈
-inch-thick rounds, rotating dough so that it won’t become misshapen from weight of knife. Place rounds 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Gently press pecan half in center of each cookie. Bake until edges of cookies are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.