When I was about 14 years old I babysat for a very fine cook who gave me this wonderful sugar cookie recipe, one that I have never seen in any cookbook. As a skinny teenager with a voracious appetite and a developing love of cooking, I made this recipe frequently. I still do.
The versatility of this basic recipe means it can be flavored with lemon zest, vanilla or almond extract. With another version, chopped pecans can be added with brown sugar to make a crunchy bourbon pecan cookie. Or, add cocoa to make a thin chocolate cookie, great for making homemade ice cream sandwiches or crushed into a pie crust.
Preparing to bake chocolate sugar cookies. (Photo by Patty Schied)
BASIC RECIPE:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
STEP ONE:
Mix thoroughly:
1 cup of butter, softened
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of almond extract, vanilla extract, or the finely grated zest of one lemon
STEP TWO:
Add:
2 cups of all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of cream of tartar
½ teaspoon of baking soda
(For the chocolate variation, add ½ cup of cocoa powder.)
STEP THREE:
1.Blend until mixture is the texture of soft, malleable clay.
(At this point the dough can be chilled for up to two days in the refrigerator)
2. Pour about one cup of granulated sugar into a shallow bowl.
3. Roll dough into balls the size of walnuts. Flatten balls into granulated sugar.
4. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet at least one inch apart. (They spread a lot)
5: Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are a golden brown. Remove to cool on rack.
Preparing to make bourbon pecan cookies. (Photo by Patty Schied)
BOURBON PECAN SUGAR COOKIE VARIATION:
Blend:
One cup of butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
Add:
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of bourbon (this adds a special flavor to the cookies, but feel free to omit it if you don’t care for the taste of liquor).
1 cup of pecans toasted for eight minutes in a 350-degree oven then chopped fine.
Mix well
Make into small balls the size of walnuts. Press into granulated sugar and bake for about 15 minutes.
Sugar cookies after baking. (Photo by Patty Schied)
NOTES: Because of Juneau humidity, place sugar cookies in an airtight container as soon as they are cool or they will become soft. These cookies freeze beautifully and will keep for months if hidden from your family.
When my kids were growing up, I always doubled the recipe. They would gobble them up while complaining loudly about my refusal to buy them Oreos.
• Patty Schied is a longtime Juneau resident who studied at the Cordon Bleu in London, has cooked meals for both AWARE and the Glory Hall, and has written a cookbook. Cooking For Pleasure appears every other week in Capital City Weekly.
