Big Buttery Sugar Cookies
As you know, we're all about what's real on this blog, about real food at every turn.
Which means baking can be a problem. Modern baking was designed for food that sometimes doesn't meet with the "real" test: hydrogenated this, overly refined that.
We can push back. Not completely. But enough that it makes sense with busy lives and normal resources. Don't worry: we're not going overboard. Don't put on the Birkenstocks. (I assure you Bruce has on his pair at this moment.) Don't tell me about how hemp is an important crop for "other" reasons. Don't break out the patchouli. (Yet.) Instead, push back a little.
In that spirit, I offer you this revamping of one of our own recipes, this time from THE ULTIMATE COOK BOOK, our 900-recipe tome. In those pages, you'll find a more standard sugar cookie recipe. Here, we're going to get a little "realer." You'll note in the top picture that our cookies are not the standard, lily white sugar cookies. That's because they're using a little whole wheat pastry flour, a little less-refined sugar.
Let's get to it.
First, position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Whisk all this in a big bowl: 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup (60 grams) whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon (a generous pinch) salt.
Next, beat 1 cup (200 grams) turbinago sugar, 6 tablespoons (90 grams) unsalted butter, and 6 tablespoons (75 grams) non-hydrogenated solid vegetable shortening in a big bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until light, creamy, and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the insides of the bowl with a rubber spatula a few times to make sure everything gets well blended.
Why the combo of butter and shortening? Some baking requires the greater stability, less "liquefaction" (to quote the poet Robert Herrick) of shortening. ("Whenas in silks my Julia goes,/ Then, then, me thinks how sweetly flows/ The liquefaction of her clothes.")
But you don't have to buy the grossly hydrogenated stuff in shelf-stable cans. Look for non-hydrogenated, trans-fat free shortenings in the refrigerator case of most supermarket, usually near the butter. Better already.
Beat in 1 large egg, then 1 large egg yolk and 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract.
Turn off the beaters and beat in half the prepared flour mixture. Then beat in 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk until smooth. Turn off the beaters and scrape down the bowl. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat at low speed just until a dough forms.
Remove the beaters and give the dough a few turns with a rubber spatula to make sure there are no pockets of undissolved flour. Use a 1/4 cup (60 ml) measuring cup to scoop out mounds of the dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Bruce used a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, making little mounds all over the sheet. You won't use all the dough by any means. Save the rest back under a kitchen towel for a second baking. Or work on multiple baking sheets as Bruce did.
Sprinkle about 1/4 cup (50 grams) superfine, granulated sugar on a plate, then dip the bottom of a sturdy custard cup or drinking glass in some water. Press it into the sugar, then use it to press a dough mound into a cookie about 3 inches in diameter. Repeat with each cookie--wetting the custard cup or glass as needed, dipping it in sugar, and pressing the mounds into circles. (You may need more sugar as you go along.)
If you want to make this a holiday treat, use colored sugar as this "icing" sugar: red or green for Christmas; blue for Hanukkah.
Bake until set but not too brown, still a little soft to the touch, about 15 minutes, maybe a minute or two longer, depending on how hot your own runs and other ambient atmospherics like the day's humidity (and thus the moisture content of the flour). Cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet, then use a flat spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cool the baking sheet at least 5 minutes before using it again--and replace the parchment paper if it's singed or crackly.
That's about it--a little step toward real food with big sugar cookies. What could be better?
Mark Scarbrough | Posted on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 1:40PM | in Cookies, Desserts, Fabulously Empty Calories
Reader Comments (4)
They look delicious, and so round and perfect!
This brings back memories of my grandmother's sugar cookies, and oh how I loved those! She rolled the dough into balls and flattened them with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar, just as you've done. And she always kept them in a pretty pink pressed-glass cookie jar, that I now have. Such good memories! I've never tasted any since that were as good as hers, but I have a feeling these just might be.
Suzie
Yum! I even think I have a depression glass cookie jar somewhere in the attic. Thanks for the reminder Suzie!
Can parchment paper be used more than once? I had a minor incident with our smoke alarms - had reused the parchment, baked the cookies using the same amount of time as before and they BURNT. I mean really BURNT. Checked the parchment box and it said not to use more than once. I figure that it was either the parchment or the temp of the stove had changed. It was weird.
Elizabeth: Depends on the brand. I've certainly used it more than once to no ill effect--but you really have to check it to make sure there's no sign of singeing or scorching or cracking. I always turn up a corner and see if it breaks into shards.
That said, better safe than sorry, I suppose. Never had the stuff ignite! Gads. Perhaps, as my grandmother used to say, a word to the wise is sufficient.
M.