Celestial Sugar Cookies

Submitted by greyghost

"I just made these for my mother's annual Christmas Cookie Exchange - they turned out great and so seasonal if you put green and red sugar on top - perfect for the holiday! Recipe came from Colorado Colore: A Palate of Tastes - cooking time does not include hour to chill . . ."

 

• Ready In: 20mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Yields: 4-5 dozen cookies

ingredients

• 4 1⁄4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions

1. Sift flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt together.
2. Beat butter, oil, sugar and confectioner's sugar in separate mixing bowl until creamy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.
4. Add dry ingredients gradually and beat until well blended.
5. Chill, covered for 1 hour.
6. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and coat balls with additional sugar.
7. Arrange balls on ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Flatten with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Press in additional color sugar for holiday decoration.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown.
10. Cool and store in airtight container.
11. For variations: Add 1 tsp of almond extract or lemon extract, add 1/2 crushed almonds or hazelnuts, add 1 TBS finely chopped lemon zest, add 1 TBS crushed peppermint candies, roll in colored sugar for holidays, or use decorative glass to create pattern on each cookie.

Reviews

[Nanners]

I've been making this recipe for years. It's the one my mom and grandma made. They are hands down the best sugar cookies I've ever had. I agree that chilling the dough overnight really gives the cookies the best consistency: cakey on the inside, slightly crisp on the outside. The only change I make is adding 1 t. baking powder to the dry ingredients. I'm not sure this makes any difference, but I like a bit of "height" to my cookies. I bake on parchment lined baking sheets, making sure to keep the dough cold.

 

[BakingDiva]

Scrumptious! The most important part is to chill the dough and cookie sheet for a couple of hours prior to baking. This gives ample time for the dough to congeal in the fridge. I leave the cookie sheet in the garage (its winter here). Chilling both the dough and the cookie sheet gives the final cookie the perfect consistency. Not too crispy on the outside, and almost cake-like on the inside. Think shortbread cookie. For a special touch, I pressed a single pecan into the center of the cookie before popping it in the oven. p.s. I pressed the cookie balls with the bottom of a glass to about over an 1/2 in thick.

 

[QL79706]

Believe it or not, I use this recipe for cut-out cookies. In fact, I just made them again for this Christmas. The dough is very easy to work with, the cookies come out slightly crispy and the flavor is good. Sprinkle them with colored sugar, or decorate with icing. Guaranteed they'll disappear.