by mrslarkin
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A&M's Testing Notes:
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Expand1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 cup granulated sugar Ask a question about this ingredient
1/4 cup light brown sugar Ask a question about this ingredient
2 teaspoons vanilla extract Ask a question about this ingredient
1 large egg Ask a question about this ingredient
1 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour (I use King Arthur) Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 teaspoon sea salt Ask a question about this ingredient
1/4 teaspoon baking soda Ask a question about this ingredient
1 cup turbinado, or coarse sugar Ask a question about this ingredient
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large sheet pans with parchment paper.
Ask a question about this stepCream butter and sugars for 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl. Continue beating for another minute. Scrape bowl again.
Ask a question about this stepAdd vanilla. Beat for 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl.
Ask a question about this stepAdd egg. Beat for 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl.
Ask a question about this stepAdd flour, salt and baking soda. Beat 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl and beat for another minute.
Ask a question about this stepPlace course sugar in small, shallow bowl. Using a small cookie/ice cream scoop (mine is 1 ½“ in diameter), scoop balls of dough and drop a few at a time in the course sugar and gently roll around. Place balls of dough on parchment, leaving about 1 ½“ space around each. My pans fit 12 cookies very comfortably.
Ask a question about this stepDo not press the balls down. This will ensure a chewy middle.
Ask a question about this stepBake for 8 - 10 minutes, turning and reversing pans midway through baking. Resist the urge to bake your cookies longer, or they won’t be chewy. The tops don’t get much color, but the bottoms will be nicely golden.
Ask a question about this stepPlace pans on cooling racks. When cool, store cookies in air-tight containers.
Ask a question about this stepHi triplip, sometimes mine come out puffier than I'd like when I've overbeaten the dough and/or baked in a too hot oven. I always suggest getting an oven thermometer, just to make sure the oven temperature is accurate. My oven is so inaccurate, it's not funny, so I always keep an oven thermometer inside to make sure it bakes at the temp I need.
Fun adaptation: add a scant 1/2 cup of flour to come up with dough that you can roll out for cookie cutter cookies. I refrigerated mine overnight. The cookies, of course, lose their chew but the flavor in a nice crisp cookie is scrumptious! These were gobbled up.
Really great to hear, ChefCatou. Thanks for letting me know.
I just made these and they are exactly what I was looking for! I have been looking for chewy sugar cookies for about a year now and finally I have success. Thank you thank you thank you!
Hi. I had the same problem as mohones. My cookies baked up puffy. I will check the oven temp, but was also wondering if there is too much air getting beaten into the dough. I followed the directions and it seemed like a lot of beating. That said, they were still delicious and were gone in one day!
Hello k! Glad you enjoyed these cookies. Yeah, I think it could also be too much air in the dough, depending on what speed you are using. I generally use a medium/low speed for the whole recipe. But at step 4, when the eggs go in, I use a low speed, especially since I upgraded to a bigger/stronger/faster mixer. Let us know if you try these again.
These cookies look like what I have been looking for. Can't wait to make them. How long will they store in an airtight tin? Does anyone know? I am bringing them someplace next weekend, and have lots to do this week. Would like to make them as far ahead as possible.
Hi Cindgem, Thanks for trying these cookies! They store very well airtight for several days. I have a bunch I made 2 days ago. They're still perfectly chewy. I think they'll freeze well, too. I'll stick some in the freezer tonight to see how they taste defrosted tomorrow.
I bake & freeze these all the time & they defrost very well. Synchronicity: I just made a batch tonight!
I feel so honored to get a comment from you on my mock vodka sauce!! Thank you!!! I absolutely LOVE this recipe!!! We made them in our baking class and this summer my sister and my best friend and I created a beautiful memory baking these together at my family summer home! My sister raved about these cookies, but the funniest moment had to be when we gave one to my two year old nephew. His eyes were so huge, because he got one with special sprinkles...( there was no turbinado sugar to be found in that country town ha ha). My sister couldn't wait so she sneaked a bite of his cookie before giving it to him. He started to burst out in tears. We tried to give him another cookie, but he was so distressed that his Mom had stolen a piece of his precious cookie! I felt so bad, but it makes for a great story. All of my family enjoyed it, but especially my little nephew. He eventually calmed down and i think had a few more :)! Well heres the recipe for the chicken... it calls for prosciutto but i used bacon! http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/stuffed-chicken-breast-prosciutto.aspx ENJOY!
Thank you so much gg! Very glad you enjoyed these cookies. And what a cute story about your nephew!!
Thanks for the link to the chicken recipe as well.
Looking forward to more of your recipe submissions.
i just made these cookies and they were truly delicious! perfect texture. however, on my first tray, i followed your instruction not to flatten the cookies and they came out dome-shaped. no idea what i could have done wrong, we followed the directions to a tee! so we flattened the rest and they came out just right. =)
hi mohnoes! The dome shape could be due to a too hot oven - it's happened to me before. An oven thermometer is really helpful for making sure your oven is accurate. Too much baking soda might also be the cause. Glad you got them to work out!!
i just made these cookies and they are delicious! however, when i followed your instruction not to flatten them, they came out dome-shaped. i followed the recipe to a tee so i'm not sure what happened. but i did flatten the rest of the cookies and they came out perfectly. =)
i just made these cookies and they are delicious! however, when i followed your instruction not to flatten them, they came out dome-shaped. i followed the recipe to a tee so i'm not sure what happened. but i did flatten the rest of the cookies and they came out perfectly. =)
I made these to take to work and they are Great! I couldn't find turbinado sugar so I used a combination of Demerara sugar and blonde coconut palm sugar which made them very pretty! The only thing I did differently is I let the dough sit in the refrigerator for 48 hours before baking them. I do this regularly now since reading this 2008 NYT article about the benefits of chilling the dough for
cookie recipe that talks about letting the dough chill 36 hours before baking: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/09chip.html?scp=1&sq=best%20chocolate%20chip%20cookie&st=cse . My son has asked me to make more this weekend. I'll buy the stuff and supervise HIM doing it (he's 16).
Have you seen this reply to that article? I love the NYT, but I also love Joy the Baker:
http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2008/07/the-chocolate-chip-cookie-debate-forth-and-final-edition/
That's great, borntobeworn! Thanks for letting me know! and BB, that's so funny! Not sure I'd be patient enough to wait more than a couple hours for my cookie fix!!
I agree - heck of a long time to wait for a cookie! I get the logic and science of it, but when I want a cookie, I tend to want it sooner rather than later.
These just came out of the oven, and I dont know what to say other than, these are the best sugar cookies that I have ever made. I recommend to anyone reading this recipe, just go ahead and make it already. Its simple, quick, and easy, and the results are beyond delicious. Thanks for such a great recipe mrslarkin, its obvious why you won the Best Chewy Sugar Cookie contest.
This weekend was Sugar Cookie Test Kitchen at my house. We tried lots of recipes. For some, we didn't like the flavor. For others, we didn't like the texture. When we got to yours we smiled. Everything was just right. You should rename these Goldilocks Sugar Cookies! Thanks for sharing this recipe - it was a well-deserved win.
Thanks, BB, for letting me know!! I'm so glad your gang enjoyed these!!
Magnificent cookie! My two-year old and I have been gobbling these golden treats up. We love the delicate crunch of the turbinado sugar on the outside. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I think it's going to be my new go-to for tea snacks.
Yay, STEsker! So happy you are enjoying the cookies! I, too, love the crunch factor.
Made these again - can't thank you enough. The turbinado sugar is like icing on the cake. Your recipe actually replaced an old family recipe as my fave.
Made these today with my two little ones and they are SO GOOD! Like others have mentioned, not too sweet, with a lovely vanilla flavor, and both chewy and crunchy. One of my favorite things about your recipes is that they make me feel like I CAN bake - they taste amazing and look like your photos (or at least something close). Thank you so much!!
YUM! My 3-year old, Simone, and I had such fun making and eating these together over the weekend -- thank you! I don't have much of a sweet tooth but I have gobbled these up -- perfect level of sweetness for my taste.
Due to a certain set of college seminar classes held on Thursday afternoon which all of my friends seem to teach, I typically have 3-4 extra kids after school in addition to my own two. Complete unanimous vote today (no secret corporate donations for false advertising allowed) electing these the best sugar cookies they'd ever eaten -- OK, if you added their ages together you don't quite get a 50-year-old, but still, that's really high praise. They requested them for next week. So now I must ask myself, when does a mom's treat become an unrealistic childhood expectation?
Wow! So great to hear, cheese1227! Please thank the gang for me. Good luck with your after school snacking dilemma. Careful, it's a slippery slope once you make these. Thank goodness it's an easy recipe.
Made them again for my daughter's Irish step dance bake sale (red and black sugar as that is the troupe's color combination) and she made little tags for the bags of cookies the said "Reel chewy sugar cookies".
This is a great recipe. I made them for a picnic. I rolled a few in the turbinado sugar for us adults, and the rest in colored sugar for the kids. They were a big hit—sophisticated for the adults, but simple enough to be enjoyed by the kids. I bet they would make great ice-cream sandwiches...
Thanks, CathyB! Great idea using the colored sugar for the kids! I've made these into ice cream sandwiches using coffee ice cream, and rolling the sides in more turbinado - so good!
COOK'S NOTE: I recently saw a cookie recipe that used cold butter. So I made these again the other day and instead of room temperature butter, I took it straight out of the fridge and beat it in my kitchenaid mixer for a few minutes until soft-ish. I'd have to do a side-by-side comparison to see if there's any real difference, but I thought this method produced a slightly chewier cookie. Most importantly, don't over-bake these.
Just tried these and they are YUMMY! I did substitute 1/2 the vanilla for orange extract to give it a little citrus taste. But the texture of these is spot on. Thanks for sharing
You're welcome, marytarry! I am so glad you enjoyed them. Love your addition of orange extract.
Are all THREE sugars creamed, or just the first 2?
A cup seems an awful lot for rolling, but 1 3/4 c seems alot for creaming...
The instructions say cream butter and "sugars"...
Sorry for the confusion, johnray! Step 2 should read "Cream butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar..." The turbinado is just for rolling. Let me know how they turn out for you!
That was going to be first guess based on proportions, but A&Ms comments were enough to keep me wondering.
Can't wait. I grew up with my mom searching to duplicate some sugar recipe my dad had tasted somewhere. Soft with a crisp exterior is my best recollection... So this jumped out at me.
It may not meet the "dad test" (he's gonna get some though) but they sure look great.
Oh - do you have a pointer to that NYT chocolate chip cookie recipe?
yup - here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/01/dining/see-jane-dunk-dunk-jane-dunk.html?scp=3&sq=chocolate chip cookie
I just made a batch of these today. I love them. Good luck with the cookies, hope dad likes them, and report back!
sorry, I was blabbering on and on. The link for New York Times’ chocolate chip cookie recipe is http://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/01/dining/see-jane-dunk-dunk-jane-dunk.html?scp=3&sq=chocolate chip cookie
As always, reading a recipe through before starting can often answer any question one may encounter about the ingredient use.
Happy baking!!
Well, I finally made them today. OUT-Standing!
Also got to use my newly acquired Silpat sheets (oh WHY did I wait so long?)
The dad-test will be end of summer, but they passed any test of MINE with flying colors!
Johnray, that's great! Curious to know what dad will think. Do let me know. I think I used my silpat once and never really liked it. I love using parchment paper.
Here's an informative NYT article explaining butter's role in cookies: www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/dining/17bake.html
This is such a great sugar cookie recipe to keep in your back pocket. Easy to memorize parts and measurements, and the modest yield of 2 dozen is perfect. I didn't have any brown sugar or turbinado (and made these on the fly due to a serious sweet craving), or vanilla extract (which is completely silly), so I used the what I had that I considered 'closest' to the vanilla--Grand Marnier (but only one teaspoon). I can't wait to make these again as written; while mine turned out completely wonderful I'm sure they have a nice, deep flavor with the proper sugars.
So glad you liked these, Brenna! Love the idea of the Grand Marnier! FYI, I was playing around with this recipe last week - added more vanilla just to see how they'd turn out - did NOT like them. Also, the butter was REALLY soft, which produced a cookie that spread way too much. Stuck it in the fridge overnight because something came up - I was not happy with them the next day. I used Demerara instead of Turbinado, which I ran out of. Way too strong molasses flavor for me.
A big congratulations mrslarkin! You are the perfect representative for food52!
I second that!
so true! mrslarkin, you're a dream! just like your lovely cookies! congratulations :)
Congratulations! Great recipe! And now let the games begin.
Hi Mrs. Larkin, LiztheChef's computer is kapoot for an indefinite period - she asked me to give you her compliments.
Hi Maefly! Tell Meyer Lemon Liz I said thanks a bunch (and I hope her computer gets fixed soon!)
Congratulations Mrs. Larkin!
those cookies were great! (my daughter just wrote this)
Sonia (computer class student)
mrslarkin hooray hooray!!! congratulations!!! so well deserved!!!
Congratulations mrslarkin, your the best
Congrats!
Just got 2 cookies for my children and they could not wait until past dinner time to have them. They loved it! No crumbs left! They screamed: "Delicious!!!"
Thank You!
Sonia (computer class student)
mrslarkin you are amazing! these sugar cookies look wonderful : )
mrslarkin, you've done it again. FABULOUS cookies! FYI for everyone out there - I am mrslarkin's neighbor and have the joy of being one of her taste testers. Good for my soul, bad for my thighs. Oh well, there's a price to be paid for everything!
thank you, mamarocks! No goods or services were exchanged for this positive review - well, aside from a few cookie samples. (just so you know, mamarocks is brutally honest when she tests my stuff!)
I'm in the midst of making a quadruple batch of these. Just an observation in my kitchen, when I'm baking one tray at a time, 10 minutes is too long.
Hi mrslarkin. You are a such a perfectionist! I made these last night....we couldn't stop eating the batter straight out of the bowl, it was so delicious!. My cookies turned out fluffier than I expected and after some thought and discussion with kaykay we determined that I used an extra large egg instead of a large egg. I also realized after I watched the A+M video that I probably creamed the batter too much at the end as well. So, just a head's up to others to follow mrslarkin's expert directions EXACTLY (including the decrease in baking time)! We liked the vanilla flavor and turbinado crunch - the kids loved them!
Oh, good observation, monkeymom! Baking can be a real pain in the butt with the exact measurements. Also, when I say "beat", my kitchen aid mixer goes no higher than the #2 setting. Lastly, my oven has bipolar disorder, so I have to watch my cookies like a hawk. I'm glad you and the kids liked the cookies! :-)
P.S. I looked at my mixer again, because now i am paranoid - no higher than 3-4 should suffice for this recipe. More importantly, don't overbake the cookies.
yahoo mrslarkin!! congrats!
Congratulations mrslarkin!
Brava,brava!!
These sound really delish... and, I've tried your recipes before, I have full faith that you could bring us the big win with these!
Three different sugars! My kinda cookie :)
I love the sugar sparkles too!
Ken is an award-winning executive chef and owner of seven Boston area restaurants: Clio, Toro, Uni, Coppa, KO Prime, La Verdad and Earth.
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Mrslarkin combines three kinds of sugar in her cookies: granulated, light brown and turbinado.
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As with most cookies, the butter and sugar and creamed first.
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Ready to go!
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Merrill measures carefully, running the straight edge of a knife across the top of the measuring spoons for accuracy.
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Next up: vanilla extract.
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Then a lone egg.
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After mixing in the flour and baking soda, we pause for an important decision: who gets to taste the dough first?
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It was so hot in New York we decided to briefly chill the dough to make it easier to work with. Then we lined it up next to the turbinado sugar (for rolling) and a parchment-lined baking sheet.
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Cookie dough on a turbinado beach.
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Merrill shapes the dough into perfect rounds.
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Nice work, mrslarkin!
why did mine come out so puffy? they are tasty, but didn't flatten out like yours!