Lori’s Famous Sugar Cookies

madlori:

I’m happy to share my recipe for my sugar cookies, my biggest claim to fame as a cook.  I did not invent them, of course, I got the recipe from Taste of Home, but there is a bit of a trick to it.

These are not the cakey, dense sort of sugar cookies.  These are light, crispy and melt in your mouth.  These are hazardous and they will vanish fast, good thing the recipe makes a lot.  I once brought these to a family gathering and my grandfather, who was a cook himself and never praises any food, EVER, ate one and said “Lor, are these ever GOOD!”  And they are (and yes, my family sometimes calls me “Lor.”)

They are not difficult and the recipe makes about 7 dozen.  I’ve included all my hard-won tips.

Lori’s Famous Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter (unsalted), very soft (quick tip to soften butter without melting – one stick, fifteen seconds in the micro at 50% power)

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar (plus additional sugar for finishing)

1 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla (real vanilla only!  I should not have to tell you this!  the fake stuff is NOT OF THE LORD)

1 box instant pudding mix (the small box, 1 oz size, not the big box.  A note about the pudding.  You can use any flavor, the cookies will not really taste like the pudding except for perhaps the slightest hint.  I think that lemon pudding makes for the best-tasting cookie, but vanilla or pistachio also work fine – don’t use chocolate or fruit flavors)

4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  You will need two baking sheets and parchment paper (never bake without this) and wire cooling racks or a lot of counterspace to cool the cookies.

2.  Cream together the butter, oil and sugars until it’s nice and smooth.  Beat in the vanilla, eggs and pudding mix.  I do this in my KitchenAid stand mixer.

3.  Sift together the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar (fyi I don’t own a sifter, I just use a fork to blend them).

4.  With the beater on low, add the flour mixture a bit at a time.  The dough will be quite soft, there’s juuuuuuust enough flour to make it come away from the sides.

5.  Roll the dough into small balls (about an inch) and place them on the cookie sheet, you can fit 12 per sheet.

6.  Put some sugar on a small plate and get a drinking glass.  Rub your hand (oily from rolling cookie balls) on the bottom to get it greasy.  Dip it in the sugar, then use the bottom of the glass to flatten down the dough balls.  Do this not in a HULK SMASH motion but use a twisting motion to keep the cookie from sticking.

7.  Bake for 12 minutes.  The cookies should be just barely browning at the edges when you remove them from the oven.  These are delicate, so take them off the hot cookie sheet RIGHT AWAY or they’ll keep cooking and get too done on the bottom.  Remove to wire rack.

(note: because oven temps vary, it’s always a good idea to do a test bake first to check the time.  Do six cookies as a test.  Don’t do less or the baking time won’t reflect the time for a whole pan)

8.  When cool (these are rare in that they don’t taste better warm), eat one and feel the love.  Try and stop yourself from eating about a half-dozen at once.  Don’t feel too bad when you don’t succeed.