Cookie Swap : Classic Butter Sugar Cookies
You guys are in for a real treat. It’s my second annual Blog Hop Cookie Swap and there are sooo many good recipes to share & save this year! This holiday, I wanted to share a cookie recipe I’ve been making for over three decades with my grandmother. It’s certainly near and dear to my heart, but despite the nostalgia- the reason I keep baking these cookies is because how incredible they taste. I actually shared this recipe on the blog wayyyy back in 2014 (as one of my very first posts), but figured since it is my most coveted cookie recipe- it was worthy of being shared for the blog hop. The recipe itself is over 300 years old (seriously), and these cookies are unlike any other sugar cookie I’ve ever tasted- melt in your mouth, delicious (no frosting needed)! Click through for the recipe, to read more about why they’re so special to me, and of course- to see what my design blogging friends made this year! Enjoy.
My grandma used to bake hundreds of these cookies each year, fill up holiday tins, and give them as gifts. Her cookie tins were so incredibly popular, people outside the fam started requesting them (like neighbors, members of her church, and my college roomies). That was always at the top of my Christmas wishlist each year! This year, she’s in the nursing home, unable to bake her famous cookies, and I knew it was my duty to bake a few big batches, fill up some tins, and mail them out. Hers should be arriving any day now, but I hope they put a big smile on her face.
In addition to a sweet gift, this is a cookie recipe you’ll end up making year-after-year because they’re THAT good. I can’t even keep them in our house because Emmett eats them by the tin. I’m talking 10+ cookies at a time (not even joking)! My g-ma used to keep them in her freezer to keep my grandpa from eating them. She’d pull a few out to thaw each day and that was his “cookie allowance”.
This is what you’ll need to start baking…
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1 cup of quality oil or shortening
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Begin by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Cream together the sugars, butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla using a stand mixer, then set aside. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar (the secret ingredient). Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamed sugars, until a dough forms. As it thickens, you may want to knead it with your hands rather than using the mixer. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. This can also be done overnight, as long as it’s in an air-tight container. During the holidays, I just keep a container full of dough in the fridge at all times… for fresh baked cookies at a moments notice.
Once the dough has chilled, roll it into consistent one inch balls. Before transferring the dough to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, roll them in sugar.
Using a flat bottomed or patterned glass, press the cookies until they are about 1/4″ – 1/2″ thick… like below.
You can use any sort of pattern or press to flatten the cookies. I find vintage glassware has the prettiest pattern options. My grandma has been using the same glass for 60+ years to make these cookies, so hers always have the same imprint (which is different than mine). It’s kind of like our “cookie family crest” and I think that’s pretty special! Each family member uses a different pattern, so you can tell where the cookies came from.
Sprinkle them with additional granulated sugar before transferring them to a HOT pre-heated oven.
Bake the cookies at 375 degrees for 12 minutes- or until the bottoms are golden brown. You don’t want the tops to turn too brown or they’ll end up too crunchy. Keep a close eye on your first batch to dial in your exact baking time!
Pull them from the oven and transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. This recipe makes quite a few cookies… probably 4-5 dozen? Definitely enough to share, fill tins, and spread holiday cheer! Also remember- you can refrigerate the dough and bake them a little at a time.
I finally updated my website and am now able to offer printable recipes (yay)! Although I definitely encourage pinning this to your Pinterest board for easy digital saving, I’m also dropping the quick, printable version below…
Classic Butter Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1 cup oil (or shortening)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together sugars, butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Next, sift and mix dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mix a little at a time, until well combined. Chill the dough for at least 15 minutes (or overnight, if preferred). Form and roll 1" balls. Roll the dough balls in granulated sugar. Using a flat bottomed or patterned glass, flatten the dough to about 1/2" thic and sprinkle more sugar on top (regular or colored sugar, depending on your preference). Bake in a preheated oven on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for 12 minutes at 375 degrees.
Please be sure to check out all of my talented friends who participated in the cookie swap tour this year! There are SO many delectable recipes you’ll want to click through, save, gorgeous kitchens to see, and charming holiday decor to gawk over. I’m linking them all below…
boxwood avenue // yellow brick home // jojotastic // the gold hive // francois et moi // the diy playbook // life on virginia street // house of brinson // making it lovely // coco kelley // sincerely sara d // renovation husbands // house of hipsters // anita yokota
If you’d rather hop from blog-to-blog via cookie images, I’ll drop a graphic and links below. Giant thank you to Chloe, of Boxwood Avenue, for the amazing graphics and for co-hosting with me this year!
Salty & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies // Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies // Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Classic Butter Sugar Cookies // Rum Balls // Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread
Peppermint Crispies // Holiday Vanilla Almond Bark // Dark Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies
Caramel Drizzled Chocolate Peanut Clusters // Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies with Honey Cinnamon Filling // Lace Cookies
Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies // Coconut Crispy Cookies // Tiger Butter Bark
If you missed my 2019 holiday home tour, you can find that here. I’ll also drop some sources from this post into a shopping slider below. As always, I love hearing if you try my recipes- so please, please, please tag me if you make these cookies. I’m going to share all of the images from people who make this recipe with my grandma- which will totally make her day! Happy Holidays, my friends.
