The Best Sugar Cookies

You guys are in for a treat. Every Christmas, I can’t get enough of these cookies. They’re unlike any sugar cookie I’ve ever tasted- melt in your mouth, delicious! I’m sharing my Nanny’s, aka my grandma’s, sugar cookie recipe (yes- I still call her that to this day). She bakes hundreds of these sweet things every holiday season and gifts them in tins because they’re so incredibly popular. I’ve already requested my second tin.  Wait no longer, start baking! Here’s what you need:

sugar_cookies

Ok- after you’ve compiled the ingredients listed above, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Do not skip this step. I repeat DO NOT skip preheating the oven. According to Nanny, it’s very important. Cream together sugars, butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients and blend into the creamed mixture. Chill the dough for at least 15 minutes up to overnight.

Here’s where Nanny and I do things different. I like cutting out regular old shapes, but she sticks with her traditional method: Form 1 1/2” balls of dough. Roll the balls in sugar. Use a flat bottomed glass to flatten the dough to 1/2” thick; she always uses a crystal glass that has a fancy pattern on the bottom- kind of like a starburst shape. Sprinkle the pressed cookies with more sugar, or colored sugar if you like. Bake on a cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes. The best part? No icing needed.

Enjoy for yourself or gift them! They can be packaged in really amazing ways, plus they are seriously a crowd pleasing cookie. Try them and let me know what you think, or post your creative cookie photos on Instagram. Start baking!

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2 Comments

  1. I made them this past weekend, Sarah and they are DELISH! Can totally see how Emmett can eat 10! They’re so light and really do melt in your mouth. The only issue I had was they looked beautiful when they went into the oven (also used the bottom of a vintage glass for the pattern), but during baking, they completely cracked on the top and the pattern was lost, even though I pulled them out when they were just golden on the bottom. Bummed, because I’ve never seen such pretty sugar cookies and was excited to give some away to some neighbors. I’m wondering if it was because I’m at a higher altitude here (almost 9k ft) and my dough seemed a bit crumbly when I was rolling it into balls. Have you or your family had the cracking issue, as all? I’d love ideas on how to remedy it. Thanks for hosting such an awesome cookie swap! I can’t wait to try some of the other recipes!

    1. I love hearing that! I’m wondering if the cracking is a result of your altitude? You could also adjust for that… maybe a little less flour or additional oil. We’re at 5k elevation and I haven’t had issues with cracking. The dough shouldn’t be crumbly when rolling it into balls! Hope this helps :) Let me know how the next batch turns out. xo