Milk & Cookies: Sugar cookies
Sugar cookies are as classic as it comes when we’re talking cookie recipes. And this sugar cookie recipe from Milk & Cookies is a fantastic representation of this childhood classic.
Owner Tina Casaceli learned the art of baking cookies from her grandmother. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Casaceli’s Milk and Cookies recipes are a perfectly blended mixture of her youthful beginnings and professional achievements. Unfortunately, Milk & Cookies Bakery closed up shop, but their tasty recipes still remain! This sugar cookie recipe is their most versatile dough and a customer favorite, and they make for an excellent cookie to be iced and decorated on any holiday.
We tried our hand at replicating Milk & Cookies sugar cookie recipe from their book Milk & Cookies by Tina Casaceli. The results were obviously delicious. The cookies were buttery and sweet with a smooth texture that almost melted in your mouth with each bite. We didn’t have any funny mess ups or errors with this recipe. We’ll chalk that up to being so simple and easy.
Recipe
Ingredients
Makes about two dozen cookies
3 cups (12 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup (8 3/4 ounces) superfine sugar
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Set aside.
2. Put the butter in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle. Begin beating on low speed. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, or until very light and smooth.
3. Add the superfine sugar, 1/4 cup at a time. When all of the sugar has been added, beat for 2 minutes.
4. Add the egg yolks one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition. Add the vanilla and continue to beat for 1 minute.
5. With the motor running, add half of the flour mixture, followed by the milk. When blended, add the remaining flour and beat to just barely blended. While the dough is still streaky, remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape the paddle clean.
6. Lightly flour a clean, flat work surface. Scrape the dough onto the floured surface. Lightly flour your hands and finish mixing the dough by using a gentle kneading motion, working until the dough is blended. Do not overwork the dough, you want to be certain that all of the ingredients are just blended together.
7. Form the dough into a disk and cover tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days), or until firm.
8. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with nonstick silicone baking mats or parchment paper (or nonstick baking sheets). Set aside.
9. Remove dough from refrigerator and unwrap. Place the granulated sugar on a large flat plate. Using a tablespoon or small ice-cream scoop, make mounds of dough. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Roll each cookie in the granulated sugar to coat completely and place them, about 2 inches apart, on the prepared baking sheets.
10. When all of the cookies are formed, place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until just barely brown around the edges.
11. Remove from the oven and, using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool.
Store, airtight, at room temperature for up to a week.
Note: Dough can be stored, airtight, in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month.
