This is Madam Chow, on hiatus in Las Vegas. No, not a pleasure trip. Well, except for the buffets, but more on that when I get back home. What I did manage to do before I left was to bake the TWD challenge: This week, Ulrike of Küchenlatein chose Grandma’s All-Occasion Sugar Cookies on pages 146-147 (or look for the recipe on Ulrike’s blog).
These are not the soft and chewy sugar cookies of my youth; rather, they are very crispy. The only thing I tweaked when it came to this recipe was the amount of vanilla extract – I increased the amount to 1-1/2 teaspoons, and I sure could taste it, which is a GOOD thing, as far as I’m concerned! Master Chow, a.k.a. The Cookie Monster, also liked these tasty little morsels. Little, because I made them rather small, and they did not spread at all in the oven. I should say that I froze this dough for a few hours, then sliced and baked the cookies straight from the freezer. Slice and bake cookies are a dream come true for people who are averse to cookie baking, like I am, or who are very busy, also like me. Oh, and probably all of you TWD bakers out there!
A couple of points on the baking. First, I thought the cookies were sweet enough without any sprinkled sugar or icing on top. Second, as I mentioned before, they hardly spread at all, so keep that in mind if you want a specific size. Finally, Dorie’s baking instructions are perfect – these cookies should not get dark. Mine turned a light golden color on the bottom and around the edges, but the top stayed pale.
Thanks Ulrike, for a great pick. I’ll be making these again, and experimenting with different flavorings. I loved the crisp texture and bright flavor in these cookies. To see what others did with the recipe, check out the TWD blogroll.
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10 users responded in this post
Cute.
Mine spread some, and I added orange to mine.
I thought these were wonderful too! Glad you enjoyed them!
We loved this recipe, too. And, I did like you…the same with the vanilla as we like vanilla in this type of cookie. I like the little ones you made, and they were great even without icing. Hope you are having a great time out there, even if it is not vacation!
Mmm, they look perfectly baked. Nice job!
Hpoe you get some good eats in LV 🙂
Experimenting with different flavors is a great idea for this cookie. It’s that kind of cookie. I like slice & bake because I can cook on demand. ( My own, of course!)
I love the flavour of vanilla too – I used vanilla paste in mine whcih worked well
Slice and bake = easy and efficient. Roll and cut out = waaay too much work. Good idea to up the vanilla so it overpowered the butter flavor. I hope you’re enjoying yourself in Vegas, even if it’s not a pleasure trip.
I always bump up the vanilla in my sugar cookies, too. Can’t wait to hear about Vegas!
I agree! There is nothing like too much vanilla! It’s my favorite! They look great!
I agree slice and bake is easy and efficient.
Thanks for joining TWD and baking with me
Ulrike from Küchenlatein