Sugar cookies are truly a classic. They are made year round for various holidays like Easter, Halloween, and, of course, Christmas. But is the recipe you’re using the healthiest choice? Some people have been searching literally their whole lives for the perfect, classic sugar cookie recipe, like the kinds that grandma makes or the kind you can get in famous bakeries.
I am going to be straight with you here, because you deserve the truth. I am a sucker for sweets. Although I don’t eat sweets all the time, sweets have always been something I enjoyed. So I try to make something healthier than a store-bought cookie or a cookie that was made without caring what was put into them. Yeah, I try to avoid that as much as possible. Shortening & bleached sugar, no thanks.
This is hands down the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever used. Not too sweet, not too crumbly. They are perfect for holiday parties or a sweet treat in your child’s lunch. I like to make these every once in a while, sometimes to just have while watching a fun movie with my family. It’s better than snacking on Debbie Cakes or Cheetos, and it sure satisfies that sweet tooth. And it isn’t like we’re eating 5 each. We’re on a strict limit of 2 per person to keep things under control. Wouldn’t need anyone have a sugar rush.
What makes this recipe healthy?
I’m not saying cookies are healthy by any means. All I’m trying to say is that this recipe is healthier than the recipes that use ingredients like bleached flour, bleached sugar, or Crisco. Cookies are not something that should be eaten on a regular basis (not exactly a real food item). This recipe is one that I use during the holidays to save everyone at the holiday parties from eating something I don’t think would be safe (real food enough) to eat. It contains basic ingredients and not too much of the ingredients that are more bad for you. A.K.A. the sugar and the butter.
Why pick this recipe over other sugar cookies recipes?
This recipe uses not as much sugar as other recipes and still is pretty sweet. This recipe also uses ingredients such as unbleached all-purpose flour which is a lot healthier than enriched (bleached) all-purpose flour. These cookies taste great and are super fun to make by yourself or with the kids. The cookies stay fresh for up to a week and a half. They are also pretty inexpensive to make and absolutely divine. And I do mean divine.
Note: This recipe has a one hour chill time. If you do not have time to make cookies that have to be chilled, I don’t recommend this recipe. However, below the recipe for Classic Sugar Cookies is another recipe that is adapted from a recipe on Allrecipes that does not need to chill, are delicious, and have been changed to be a lot healthier than the original recipe found here.
Here’s the recipe:
- 2 cups flour, plus more for rolling out cookies
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well blended. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and shape into two discs. Wrap in waxed paper and chill until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Working with one disc of dough at a time, roll out dough on a floured surface until (1/4-inch) thick and cut out cookies with floured cookie cutters. Transfer cookies to parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart.
- Bake until just golden around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool and then decorate as desired. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
- 2¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup pure cane sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 375° F. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks. Cool five minutes and move to a storage container or place on a serving plate for immediate use.
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