The Best Chewy Sugar Cookies Recipes

THE BEST ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

CHEWY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
• Beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and egg and beat to incorporate. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches and beat on medium-low speed until incorporated.
• Put some sugar in a small bowl. Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of the batter, roll them into balls and coat in the sugar. Arrange the balls on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. (There will be additional batter for a second batch.)
• Bake until the bottoms and edges are barely golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. When the baking sheets are cool, repeat with the remaining batter. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

THE BEST CHEWY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• In a seperate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add yolks and vanilla, mix well.
• A little at a time, add the flour mixture and mix well.
• Roll into balls.
• Roll the cookie dough balls in the rolling sugar.
• Bake for 8 minutes.
• For a fun twist, you can tint your rolling sugar with food coloring or you can use store bought sprinkles to decorate the cookies.

THE BEST SUGAR COOKIES FOR DECORATING

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat together the egg and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat until slightly creamy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Reduce the speed to low again and slowly pour in the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture, in 3 additions, increasing the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters as needed. Once all the flour is just incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together. Divide into 2 even pieces. Shape each piece into a flat square and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• To roll, cut and bake the cookies: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Dust another sheet of parchment paper with flour and put 1 piece of the dough on top. Dust with more flour and top with another sheet of parchment. Roll the dough out between the parchment sheets into a square about 1/4-inch thick (about 11-by-9 inches) and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough.
• From 1 piece of rolled dough, cut out cookies with a 2 1/2-inch cutter and arrange on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate while you cut the remaining cookies. Reroll any scraps of dough and repeat the freezing, cutting and refrigerating process until all the dough is used.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets front to back and bottom to top about halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets set on a wire cooling rack, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons water and the vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the icing forms thick and glossy peaks, about 2 minutes (adding up to 1 tablespoon more water, if needed). Tint with a few drops of food coloring as desired.
• Fit a pastry bag with a small round tip and fill it with the icing.
• Pipe royal icing on cookies with the design of your liking and let dry for 30 minutes.

CHEWY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in dry ingredients. Add enough of the buttermilk to moisten the dough and make it soft, not wet.
• Roll rounded teaspoons of dough into balls and place on a ungreased cookie sheet. With a brush or fingers, moisten the top of each cookie with the remaining buttermilk and slightly flatten the top of each cookie. Sprinkle with raw sugar or colored sprinkles.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly golden. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to cool on a rack.