This sugar cookie recipe comes straight from The Pioneer Woman herself. It’s especially easy to make.
This Sugar Cookie recipe from the Pioneer Woman is about as simple as can be. And it serves to prove the point that the simplest things are often the best!
These classic cookies just melt in your mouth and are ready in under 30 minutes (excluding chilling time). It’s a great recipe to make with the kids – and to enjoy eating with them too!
Tips for perfect sugar cookies
If you find that your cookies don’t always come out quite the way you expected, take a look at these tips. You may discover that you’ve been making a common mistake, but one that’s easy to put right!
My sugar cookies are too hard
This is usually caused by cooking them until they feel hard to the touch, instead of removing them from the oven whilst slightly soft. Cookies will harden a little as they cool, so always take them out just as they set and begin to change color – don’t wait for them to harden and develop a golden color.
Another problem may be that you have overworked the dough after adding the flour, which can make the cookies tough. Don’t overmix when the flour has been added – mix only to the point where all the ingredients are propoerly combined.
My cookies didn’t spread
This is probably because the ratio of butter to flour wasn’t quite right, and you ended up with a little more flour than needed. Be very careful when measuring your ingredients and make sure that you don’t use any more flour than the recipe calls for.
My cookies are too flat!
Conversely, your cookie dough may spread out so much that it resembles one giant sugar cookie rather than individual ones. Again, this is an indication that your quantity of ingredients may be a little off and you’ve used too much butter.
Alternatively, it could be that you didn’t refrigerate your dough for long enough. Cookie dough should be refrigerated for one hour at the very least – but if you’re well organized, we’d recommend refrigerating it overnight for the very best results.
A common mistake here is to try hurrying things along by putting the dough in the freezer instead of the fridge. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work! What happens is that the outside of the dough becomes super cold – and may even start to freeze – while the center of the dough remains too soft to work with.
Storing sugar cookies
Sugar cookies remain at their best if kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Sometimes they’ll last even longer, although they may harden a little.
If you want to soften some cookies that have gone a little too hard, here’s a good tip to try!
Just put a slice of very fresh bread in with the cookies and close the lid. The cookies will absorb the moisture from the bread and hey presto – nice soft cookies once again!
Love Ree Drummond? Don’t miss our favorite Pioneer Woman recipes!
Pioneer Woman Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large Egg
- 1 cup Canola Oil
- 2 sticks Butter Softened
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 4 cups All-Purpose Flour plus 2 Tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cream Of Tartar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Cream together eggs, oil, butter, sugars and vanilla in a bowl.
- Mix in remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate dough for an hour.
- Use a cookie scoop and drop balls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Smear a dab of butter all over the bottom of a glass. Dip this in granulated sugar. Use the glass to flatten each ball of dough, dipping again into the sugar each time. Repeat until all are flattened.
- Bake for nine to 11 minutes, until cookies are just barely turning brown.
- Let them cool and enjoy!