Sugar Cookie Variations

So it's almost that time of year again: Christmas/Holiday cookie time! And because I had two days off in a row, I decided to do some experimenting on the sugar cookie front.
I have grown up using my Grama's sugar cookie recipe, which is absolutely delicious. However, because the dough isn't chilled, it spreads like crazy and all the pretty shapes that we cut out end up looking like they got run over by a bulldozer. If this isn't something that is important to you (like if you're just cutting out circles), then by all means use your old recipe. But I wanted something that would hold the sharp edges and maintain its shape.
So, I turned to Pinterest. Don't get me wrong, most of the recipes I use are from other sources or from my family. But in this case, I had been seeing this one recipe posted over and over again: no spread sugar cookies from Sweetopia. I gave it a try, and my mom has declared these her new favorite cookies. Ever. Out of all of the delicious, amazing, complicated cookies I've made, these are her new favorites.

And that's what's great about these cookies. They are simple, they are easy, and they hold their shape. But they are also pretty darn good. Especially if you use the fancy vanilla (you've read my rants about how much I love that stuff). This is THE recipe I will use from now on. And the best part is, there is a chocolate version!

So below I've written up these recipes for you, and I've included a separate (non-related) brown sugar spice roll-out cookie recipe that I tried today and loved.

But before we get to the recipes, let me give you some hints for making these cookies as pretty as they can be:

1. Many cookie recipes call for whipping the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This incorporates a lot of air into the dough, which causes the dough to spread when baked. Instead, I beat the butter and sugar together until just combined.
2. Both the plain sugar and the chocolate cookie recipes originally had baking powder, but I left it out (Sweetopia tells you to do this because the baking powder can cause the dough to spread), The brown sugar spice cookies originally had baking powder AND baking soda, but after some research, I left the soda out and reduced the baking powder by half. Turns out, baking soda causes the dough to spread and baking powder causes it to rise. 
3. CHILL YOUR DOUGH. I cannot stress this enough. Believe me, I have tried to take shortcuts with roll-out dough and it never ends well. It's harder to work with and they won't maintain their shape. Chill the dough for an hour before cutting out shapes, and then chill it for an hour afterwards. You won't regret it.
4. Bake cookies of the same size together so everything bakes evenly. I've also tried to take shortcuts here and ended up with unbaked cookies on the same pan as overdone ones. Now I only bake cookies of the same shape together.
5. Watch your cookies carefully, but open the oven door as little as possible. The more you open it, the more heat gets out, the slower your cookies will bake.
6. Sift your dry ingredients so you don't end up with a pocket of flour/cocoa powder/cinnamon in the middle of your cookies. Ick.
7. This last one isn't for appearances, but for taste: use quality ingredients. I know you hear it all over the place, but you really can taste the difference. If you use cheap imitation vanilla, it just won't taste the same as quality vanilla. And make sure everything is fresh.

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups unsalted butter (room temperature)

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 T vanilla

5 cups AP flour

1 t salt

Instructions:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for a few seconds more. Do not over mix the butter and sugar in this step, it will incorporate too much air into the dough. 
2. Add eggs and vanilla slowly and mix. Make sure to scrape down the bowl with your spatula.
3. Sift your dry ingredients together. Add all of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. It is extremely important to not over mix the dough.
4. Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper until it is 1/4" thick. Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.
5. Cut out cookie shapes and place on parchment paper or silpat-lined baking sheets. Re-roll scraps and repeat.
6. Put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookie.
9. Once out of the oven, leave cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack. Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate!
10. Eat.

Source: Sweetopia

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups unsalted butter (room temperature)

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 T vanilla

4 cups AP flour

1 1/2 cups cocoa powder

1 t salt

Instructions:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for a few seconds more. Do not over mix the butter and sugar in this step, it will incorporate too much air into the dough. 
2. Add eggs and vanilla slowly and mix. Make sure to scrape down the bowl with your spatula.
3. Sift your dry ingredients together. Add all of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. It is extremely important to not over mix the dough.
4. Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper until it is 1/4" thick. Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.
5. Cut out cookie shapes and place on parchment paper or silpat-lined baking sheets. Re-roll scraps and repeat.
6. Put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the center of the cookie no longer looks wet. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookie.
9. Once out of the oven, leave cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack. Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate!
10. Eat.

Source: Sweetopia

Brown Sugar Spice Cookies

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups AP flour

1/2 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1 t allspice
Pinch nutmeg

1/4 t salt

3/4 cup plus 2 T unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 cup dark brown sugar (firmly packed)

1 egg

1 T molasses

1 T heavy cream

Instructions:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for a few seconds more. Do not over mix the butter and sugar in this step, it will incorporate too much air into the dough. 
2. Add eggs and molasses slowly and mix. Make sure to scrape down the bowl with your spatula.
3. Sift your dry ingredients together. Add all of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. It is extremely important to not over mix the dough. Now add the cream and mix until incorporated.
4. Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper until it is 1/4" thick. Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.
5. Cut out cookie shapes and place on parchment paper or silpat-lined baking sheets. Re-roll scraps and repeat.
6. Put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the center of the cookie no longer looks wet. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookie.
9. Once out of the oven, leave cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack. Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate!
10. Eat.

Source: The Art of the Cookie