Soft-Baked Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature*
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cups (190g) spoon & leveled all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar (cannot be omitted)
Directions:
In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Get it nice and smooth, then add the sugar on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cream of tartar. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 different parts. The dough is quite thick and you may have to stir the rest by hand.
Scoop a large sections of dough (about 2 Tablespoons of dough each) and roll into balls. Make sure the balls are taller, rather than wide.
Chill the balls of dough on the cookie sheet for at least 2 hours and up to 48 hours in the refrigerator.* This step will prevent spreading in the oven. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Bake chilled cookie dough for 8 minutes, no more. The cookies will appear undone and very soft. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets for 3 minutes and move to wire rack to cool completely.
Cookies stay soft & fresh for up to 1 week at room temperature. Cookies freeze well. Cookies may be rolled into balls and frozen up to 3 months to bake at a later date. Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
*If you're in a pinch and need to soften your butter quickly, cut 1 stick of butter into 5 different sections. Microwave for 10 seconds.
*Room temperature egg is required. To bring the egg to room temperature quickly, place in a warm glass of water for about 10 minutes as you get the other ingredients ready.
*Chilling dough is mandatory.