I have never really been the sugar cookie type. If I am going to eat a cookie, it’s going to have chocolate (but I am pretty sure you knew that already). That being said, I never want to leave out my vanilla sugar lovers. So, this recipe for soft sugar cookies goes out to you! These are a riff off of a friend’s grandma’s sugar cookie recipe. I think that the cookies turned out better than I could have imagined, and I love the inclusion of the sprinkles! You can dress the cookies up or down, but they are just as good plain as they are with extras. The cookies have a little underlying flavor that really boosts them to a whole new level! What is that underlying flavor you ask? It’s almond extract! But be careful when using almond extract because a little goes a LONG way.
What is almond extract?
Almond Extract, like vanilla extract, is a concentrated liquid of almond flavor. Often times, almond extract is made with almond oil that is blended with ethyl, a flavorless alcohol. The almond oil is usually taken from bitter almonds rather than sweet almonds because the bitter almonds contain a more classic almond flavor. There is natural almond extract and there is imitation. Natural is mostly just almond oil, water, and ethyl, though sometimes there is also oil from peach or apricot pits. This is because they contain the same flavor molecule that almonds do. Imitation almond extract gets its flavor from synthetic benzaldehyde that is created in a lab. Benzaldehyde is the charascteristic flavor chemical that is naturally occurring in both the pits of certain fruits and in almonds. It is difficult to discern the imitation almond extract from pure, so if you are looking to save a buck, you should go with imitation.
This recipe for soft sugar cookies might look a little different than other recipes because it includes cream of tartar. One thing I do not think many people know is that cream of tartar helps to keep your cookies soft. It gives a bit of rise to the cookies as well as enhancing their chewiness. This is why it is important not to skip the cream of tartar though it may seem to be an obscure ingredient. Without the inclusion of cream of tartar, your cookies with get hard much quicker. They also will turn out to be more crumbly and dense rather than soft and fluffy.
Soft Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough:
- 1¼ cups All-Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter (softened to room temperature)
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Egg
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ teaspoon Almond Extract
For the Toppings:
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ cup Sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, add your flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- Using a hand mixer in a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment), cream together your butter and sugar. Make sure they are fully combined and a little fluffy. This will take 2-3 minutes.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat well until the entire mixture is homogeneous.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat together until no dry flour remains in the batter.
- Using a cookie scoop (or your hands), scoop out cookie dough balls. I use a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, and this recipe made 20 cookies for me.
- Pour the ¼ cup of granulated sugar for the toppings into a small bowl, and if you are using any other toppings like sprinkles or something of the like, pour those in a separate small bowl as well.
- If you are adding sprinkles or another topping, dip the top of the cookie dough balls in there first. Then, once you have your desired amount of sprinkles on top, roll the dough ball in the sugar and coat completely. If you are not using sprinkles/toppings, skip the first part and just roll every dough ball in sugar to coat it.
- Once all of your dough balls are coated in sugar and your toppings have been added if so desired, place dough balls on the lined baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes.
- Take out of the oven, the edges should just barely be browning. Allow to cool before eating. They will last in a container at room temperature for 3 days.
Notes
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