My Grandma's Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies
I was so fortunate to have both sets of my grandparents close by when growing up. I remember when I was just a girl, I’d go over to my Grandma Phyllis’s house and had the freedom to open her freezer to pick out my choice of her three signature cookies. She always had on hand her chocolate chip walnut cookies, peanut butter cookies, and old-fashioned sugar cookies. I still have her index card for sugar cookies, which is typewritten and butter soiled. I cherish it dearly since it evokes the sweet years of my childhood. I especially love the complement of butter to sugar, with a hint of nutmeg for an earthy tang—my mysterious ingredient. And you can’t forget a brushing of melted butter with powdered sugar on top of these recently baked cookies. Yum!
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter + 4 T. for brushing
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 t. vanilla extract, not imitation
- 1 T. heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ t. nutmeg
- 1 t. baking powder
- ¼ t. sea salt
- Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Directions
- Step 1 Take out the butter so it’s at room temperature and preheat the oven to 375° F.
- Step 2 Beat the sugar and butter, minus the 4 T., in a large mixing bowl for 1-3 minutes with a stand or electric mixer until the butter and sugar are light in color and fluffy. As a note, I used to skip this step because I was in a hurry to get the cookies done, but it’s worth it to take the extra time to blend the butter and sugar until they’re airy. After the 1-3 minutes are up, add the egg, cream, and vanilla and continue to beat.
- Step 3 Next, in a second mixing bowl, measure out the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg and mix.
- Step 4 Now, spoon the dry ingredients from step 3 (the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg) in with the ingredients from step 2 (the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla). Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Then, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours, which is necessary to prevent the dough from spreading too thin when baked. My cookies spread to 3 ½ inches wide.
- Step 5 Next, after refrigerating the dough, grease two baking sheets and scoop out 12 (2”) balls, 6 scoops per baking sheet. Then, I use my thumb to make a ¾ deep imprint in the middle of the ball, so the centers fill in and bake more readily. Just don’t press all the way through. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. I take mine out after 11 minutes. Adjust according to your oven temperature.
- Step 6 Finally, melt the 4 T. of butter in the microwave and be sure to cover your bowl with a paper towel, so the butter doesn’t splatter. Then, brush the melted butter over the slightly cooled cookies. Now, sprinkle the powdered sugar over the cookie tops. Serve warm and enjoy!
As a young girl, I grew up on my Grandma Phyllis’s old-fashioned sugar cookies. Whenever I went over her house, I’d have free license to pull out one of these cookies from a tin in her freezer. Sample one and you’ll know why I grew so fond of these cookies!
NUTRITONAL INFORMATION:
Nutritional Information: serving size: 1 cookie, servings per recipe: 12, calories: 226, total fat: 12.5 g., saturated fat: 7,7 g., cholesterol: 46 mg., sodium: 127 mg., total carbohydrate: 27.3 g., dietary fiber: 0.4 g., total sugars: 15.1 g., protein: 2.2 g., calcium: 27 mg., iron: 1 mg., potassium: 69 mg.