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Sugar Cookie

Classic Melt-in-Your-Mouth Sugar Cookie Recipe

These butter-soft cookies dissolve on your tongue like a pillowy dream, thanks to the perfect fat ratio of cold butter and Crisco combined with cream of tartar and egg yolks. Rolled in colorful decorating sugar and baked to golden perfection, these tender, melt-in-your-mouth treats deliver bakery-quality results without the complexity or cost.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Servings: 30 Cookies
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Calories: 145
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup cold butter
  • 1/2 cup Crisco
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • Red and green decorating sugar

Method
 

  1. Begin by preheating your oven to 300 degrees and lining flat cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, cream together 1/2 cup cold butter and 1/2 cup Crisco for about 40 seconds until just mixed—avoid overmixing at this stage.
  2. Add 2 cups white sugar and blend until just combined. Incorporate 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon cream of tartar into the mixture.
  3. Continue by adding 1 teaspoon vanilla and the yolks from 3 large eggs, mixing until well combined. Finally, add 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and blend until the dough just comes together without overmixing.
  4. Roll the dough into balls slightly larger than a hazelnut but smaller than a walnut. Roll each ball in red and green decorating sugar to coat evenly, then place them on the parchment-lined sheets about two inches apart.
  5. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, with 12 minutes being the recommended time for ideal results. Watch carefully to monitor the cookies develop golden, light bottoms without browning on the edges.
  6. The cookies will appear puffy when removed from the oven, which is the desired result—they will continue to set as they cool.

Notes

If you're looking to shake things up with this classic recipe, you've got plenty of ways to customize it without completely overhauling what makes these cookies so good. I'd swap the vanilla for almond extract, or try lemon zest for brightness.
Want chewier cookies? Reduce baking time by a minute. Prefer crispy edges? Bake the full fourteen minutes. You could replace half the flour with almond flour for nuttiness, or add food coloring to the dough itself rather than rolling in sugar. The butter-to-Crisco ratio stays put though—that's your secret weapon for texture.