Story and photo by Lisa Crockett
Sugar cookies figure heavily in my memories of childhood special
occasions: Jack-o-lanterns with orange frosting for Halloween, Christmas
trees and stars, hearts in February. I even remember occasionally
decorating a Thanksgiving turkey cookie or an egg-shaped cookie for
Easter.
It was natural, then, that when I had children of my own, I would want
to replicate the fun and delicious ritual of holiday-themed cookies. And
so began a quest for the perfect recipe. The cookies I remembered were
sweet and smelled of vanilla, but were also sturdy enough to hold the
mounds of frosting, sprinkles and candy I poured over them. I figured
that such a simple, ubiquitous treat would have recipes that were easily
found in any general interest cookbook.
I could not have been more wrong.
Some recipes tasted good, but baked up delicate as blown glass and broke
to bits at even the suggestion they be topped with frosting. Some had
the consistency of lead and tasted about the same. Most were difficult
to roll out and even if I could successfully transfer my desired shapes
to the baking sheet, puffed so much in the oven that my Halloween
pumpkins were virtually indistinguishable from my Christmas snowmen.
So for many years I simply skipped the sugar cookies, or made a bar
cookie version. But in a fit of nostalgia, I decided to begin searching
again. Surely someone had a recipe that would look good and taste even
better. I scoured the Internet, but in the end, I discovered it in an
excellent cookbook I received as a gift a few years ago. I'm not enough
of a food scientist to know exactly what it is about these cookies that
makes them so effortless, but I think the sour cream and the cornstarch
must have something to do with it. The recipe is easy to mix up and roll
out, and bakes up perfect every time. The flavor of the cookie is
delicately sweet and lends itself well to frosting or other kinds of
decoration, but is pretty tasty without any adornment, too. It is, in my
opinion, the Holy Grail of sugar cookie recipes!
This recipe comes from "The Keeping Up Cookbook" – I've only had the
book for a few years, but every recipe I've used has been a winner and I
turn to it often for inspiration and ideas. Given that during February I
think about love, it seems right to share a recipe from a book I love
so much.
For more information about "The Keeping Up Cookbook," visit www.keepingupcookbook.com.
The One True Sugar Cookie from "The Keeping Up Cookbook"
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ cup cream, sour cream or buttermilk
3 tablespoons corn starch
3 cups flour (add 2 tablespoons extra flour in humid or rainy weather)
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg,
vanilla, almond extract, salt and baking powder, mixing well until
combined. With mixer on low, add half the cream and then the cornstarch,
followed by half the flour. Add remaining cream and flour, mixing until
just incorporated. Divide dough into two flattened balls, cover in
plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Roll out chilled dough to desired thickness (I usually do about ¼ inch)
on a generously floured surface. Cut into desired shapes, dust off
excess flour and bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 8 to
10 minutes or until set, but not browned. Cool for five minutes then
transfer to a cooling rack. Decorate with your favorite frosting and
sprinkles.