Chewy Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies are like a blank slate of possibilities. I imagine they are also a good choice for something fun to do with your kids. I found this recipe on America’s Test Kitchen and make this all year round, omitting the snowflake on top, of course.  Buttery, chewy and crackly on top, this is a simple cookie that goes great with your choice of beverage – milk, coffee, tea, etc.

You can even make the batter with just a whisk and a spoon, no mixer needed. America’s Test Kitchen came up with this foolproof recipe, which balances the structure of the cookie just so, to create a perfect cookie. 

For the cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a standing mixer, place the cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar. Pour in the warm butter. Mix until combined.  (As I mentioned above, you don’t need to use a mixer for this recipe. You can do this step in a bowl and whisk all the ingredients together.)Add the oil  and mix until completely incorporated. Add the egg, milk and vanilla and mix until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients and mix in with a rubber spatula.

Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces, about 1 1/2 Tablespoons and roll into balls. Place the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in another bowl or a pie plate. Roll each cookie in the sugar. Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Use a glass to flatten the cookies to approximately 2 inches in diameter.

Bake for 11-13 minutes.

For the glaze:

Whisk the cream cheese and milk until smooth.

Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and whisk until smooth again.

To decorate the cookies:

Pour the glaze into a small ziptop bag, cut a small hole in one of the corners. Decorate the cookies into whichever design you like. You can also add food coloring to the glaze to have different colors.

Chewy Sugar Cookies
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Sweets
Serves: 24 cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
  • 2¼ cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sugar, plus ½ cup for rolling
  • 2 oz cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
  • 6 Tablespoons butter, melted and still warm
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tablespoon milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
Glaze:
  • 1 Tablespoon cream cheese, softened
  • 3 Tablespoons milk
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
For the cookies:
  1. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  2. In a standing mixer, place the cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar. Pour in the warm butter. Mix until combined.
  3. Add the oil and mix until completely incorporated.
  4. Add the egg, milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. YOU CAN DO ALL THIS WITH A WHISK IN A LARGE BOWL, NO MIXER NEEDED.
  5. Add the dry ingredients and mix in with a rubber spatula.
  6. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces, about 1½ Tablespoons each and roll into balls.
  7. Place the remaining ½ cup of sugar in another bowl or a pie plate.
  8. Roll each cookie in the sugar.
  9. Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to flatten the cookies to approximately 2 inches in diameter. Bake for 11-13 minutes.
For the glaze:
  1. Whisk the cream cheese and milk until smooth.
  2. Add the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth again.
To decorate the cookies:
  1. Pour the glaze into a small ziptop bag, cut a small hole in one of the corners.
  2. Decorate the cookies into whichever design you like. You can also add food coloring to the glaze to have different colors.

21 Comments

  • Oksana

    These cookies look so yummy! I will definitely try these and my 4yr old daughter will have so much fun decorating them! Thanks Olga!

  • katya

    i love this recipe i did it and everybody loved it can you post a cupcake recipe my little nephew is always asking me to make cupcakes and i don’t know which one to do help

    • olgak7

      In this recipe, you can’t substitute granulated sugar for powdered sugar. The glaze will simply not turn out right at all. If you have a food processor, you can process the granulated sugar in it until it becomes powdered sugar.

  • Vera

    Olga, I made these cookies today and they turned out really good. I loved the glaze it’s amazing and the sugar on the top is so sparkly makes it look like real snow. I love your recipes so simple and easy to make.

  • Emily Kutsar

    Hi Olga, I was wondering if you could make the dough and then put it in the fridge a few hours ahead of time or will it be to hard to work with?

  • n

    I want to make this cookies with kids, do u think ya mogy ego roll like, raskatat i chob kids vubirali formachku i sami delali sebe cookies. eto vozmozna ? Esli da, to nyzna s verxy posupat sugar, i kakaya tolchuna dolzhna but?
    V pamadky mozna color dobavlyat ? Pasibki bolwoye, izvinyayus cho tak mnogo voprosikov.

    • olgak7

      You can, but the cookies will not be as tender. I would recommend doing the cookies the way I wrote in the recipe. You can have the kids decorate the top of the cookies later. There are other recipes that are better for rolling out.
      Yes, you can use food coloring in the glaze.

  • Anya

    hi olga, thank you for the recipe first of all, i am having trouble with the icing, its coming out greyish, i tried to add food coloring it ended up being thick and even worse color, any thoughts?

  • Carly

    Excellent recipe Olga, thank you! For me the cookies came out soft and tasty! I used whole wheat flour and sour cream instead of cream cheese and they still turned out great!

  • Lidiya

    Just made these with my kids!! SOOOO easy to make, instructions so easy to follow, but the best part-they MELT in your mouth! So yummy! Thank you for a great recipe!

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