Description
A scrumptious, light and fluffy sugar cookie for altitudes of 8,500 feet and higher.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick, 8 TB) unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (not imitation)
- 3/4 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a stand or handheld mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, incorporating each fully. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in sour cream and vanilla.
- Stir in flour mixture, combining gently until everything begins to clump together and forms a soft dough. If it remains too sticky, add a little more flour, about a tablespoon at a time, until it is handle-able. Pat dough into a rough circle, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator for 2 hours or more (can be made the day before).
- Remove dough from refrigerator and allow to soften slightly. On your rolling surface, lay out a sheet of parchment that will fit your baking sheet. Sprinkle it with powdered sugar and place dough on top. Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness.
- Cut out desired shapes. Gather the scraps and re-roll. Avoid re-rolling more than twice as your cookies may become tough. Carefully transfer the parchment to your baking sheet.
- Bake cookies at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until tops are slightly puffed and bottoms are just slightly golden-colored.
- Allow to cool on the pan for a minute or two, transfer to a baking rack. When fully cool, decorate the cookies with frosting and sprinkles.
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Notes
… rolling the cookies out using flour can cause your dough to absorb too much, resulting in a tough dough. Rolling them out using powdered sugar instead adds a little extra yumminess without altering the texture.
… likewise, when cutting out cookies, place them carefully so that you have as few scraps as possible to re-roll out. The more you handle the dough, the more gluten it produces and if over-handled, can result in tough or dry cookies.
