These might look similar to snickerdoodles, but they’re not. Do you know why? Because I’m not that fond of snickerdoodles. They often have a crunchier texture and aftertaste that I just do not enjoy.
Cinnamon, though, is the best. So these soft-baked sugar cookies are rolled in cinnamon sugar and baked to happy perfection. These are the way to get your school snack munchies on!
If you know anything about wearing high heels for a day, you also know that it’s always a stupid decision. They make everything hurt as you get older, from your feet right up to your back and beyond.
Men never understand why women subject themselves to this torture. Men also never have their calves up for inspection in form-fitting dresses. High heels might hurt like the dickens, but they also make you look darn good.
Of course, I wore heels on the first day of school all day. Oh, the pain. The horrible pain. Remind me in a year never to do that again. I’ll have to atone all winter by wearing Uggs every single day.
Yesterday as I was hobbling around, I took a few minutes to put out a plate of these cinnamon sugar cookies for the teachers. I wanted us to sit down at lunch and share first day trauma stories. It’s always much easier to share trauma over cookies.
I’m not sure if anyone had a story like that (yay for good first days!), but we chatted about our lives. Who was getting married, who had a baby, who had a kid starting kindergarten, all of that. You know, real life stuff. It felt good to take a cookie break with everyone.
These cookies are so inviting and comforting. They’re super soft, and their buttery sugary goodness is unbounded. You’ll be very popular if you bake these!
Whether or not you choose to suffer with high heels in life, there’s always a cookie out there to comfort you. That, above all, is sweetly reassuring!
Ingredients
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter. Add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Stir in the egg and vanilla, beating until smooth.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar. Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until the dough is smooth.
- Form the dough into balls (about 1-2 tablespoons in size) and place on a plate. The dough will be soft but manageable.
- Chill the cookie dough for anywhere between three hours and overnight.
- When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar. Roll each cookie dough ball in the mixture and place on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake cookies for 8 minutes exactly. Do not overbake them. They will be pale, but done.
- Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Yeah, yeah, everyone’s grandmother probably did. But the thing is, sugar cookies have never been my favorite. I could take them or leave them. But hers? No way. I ate them all up every time she baked them.
Sugar cookies are my son’s favorite, but I used to avoid making them because I didn’t like the work involved with either rolling out dough or making a log and slicing off cookies. But this recipe is simplicity itself. My son can get his cookies, and I can spend more time playing Connect Four with him instead of rolling out cookies.
I’m going to keep this one short, since I’ve had a heck of a week. I’ll spare you the details, but I’ve been yelled at and kicked enough for one seven-day period. Yep, I’ve got small children. They’re cute and lovable about 85% of the time, fussy 10%, and scary monsters the other 5%. Some days I just. Cannot. Deal.
Are any of you familiar with the afternoon rush? No, I’m not talking about rush hour, with the cars honking everywhere. Luckily, I have a 10-minute commute. I’m talking about what happens when you walk in the door and several small people come hurtling themselves at you, all talking at the same time.
It’s totally overwhelming, but I suspect I’ll miss it someday. From what I can tell of teenagers based on the students I teach, kids stop oversharing with their parents at some point, which means I will someday come home to kids hiding in their rooms, trying to avoid me. I should probably enjoy the afternoon rush now, even though it makes me want to crawl under the dining room table and cover my ears with my hands.
What can I say? Kids are loud.
On those busy, overwhelming days, only a simple cookie recipe will suffice. That is, if you choose to bake at all. With these, you just press the dough into a rectangle, sprinkle with sugar (or fun green sugary sprinkles in honor of St. Paddy’s Day!), bake and cut. Couldn’t be easier!
Now my son is happy, and even though these are not my grandmother’s classic sugar cookies, they are definitely good. Besides, if his mouth is full of cookie when I get home, then maybe the afternoon rush will be just that much quieter!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the first six ingredients together until light and fluffy. Combine the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
- Pat the cookie dough evenly onto the prepared pan, forming a thin rectangle that measures almost to each edge of the pan. Evenly distribute the sugar or sprinkles on top.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are set and turning golden at the edges.
- Cool for 10 minutes. Cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.
Some days, my kitchen is humming. Bread dough rises as it should, pie crust comes together without complaining, and frosting practically pipes itself. Those are great days.
Then, there was last Sunday. I ran out of butter without realizing it, my husband couldn’t find the chocolate candy melts at the store, and my heavy cream was suspiciously gloppy, even though it was not at its sell-by date yet. As I watched one baking project tank after another, I wondered why in the heck I do this.
Rather than ponder that very complicated question fully, I decided to try and do some disaster control. Instead of making frosting for the sugar cookie bars with butter I didn’t have, I would melt white chocolate, dye it pink, and spread it on top. I didn’t have chocolate melts, so I added some vegetable oil to chocolate chips and made the melts from scratch. And as for the heavy cream? Well, that one had no out. I had to hightail it to the store.
When the day’s baking was done and the photos safely shot before losing the best of the daylight, I was tired. And proud. Because every single recipe I’d planned for that day had some kind of issue, and all turned out delicious. And as for those cookie bars, covered in white chocolate instead of frosting?
As you can see, they turned out okay in the end! In fact, more than okay. The white chocolate top is gentler than a buttercream frosting, really allowing the cookie underneath to shine.
Plus, they were far more portable without frosting going every which way. These definitely traveled to hungry mouths outside of my house, and I didn’t have to worry about finding a mess when I opened the container. They pack up beautifully.
When I was a kid and miserable all the time because little girls are mean, my mom told me that every problem presents an opportunity. Time and time again, I learn that lesson. Sure, it sucks to have a bad baking day, or any kind of a bad day, for that matter. But boy, do we learn from that. And in the end, we come out stronger. Let’s just hope it’s with sugar cookie bars!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil, leaving enough to hang over the sides. Coat with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Finally, add the dry ingredients and mix until a thick cookie dough forms.
- Spread the dough in the prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are just golden. Do not overbake.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips for one minute. Stir until smooth. If needed, heat for an additional 30 seconds to melt.
- Working quickly, mix one drop of red food gel coloring into the melted chocolate, stirring until a light pink color emerges consistently.
- Spread the melted chocolate in a thin layer over the bars. Add sprinkles.
- Allow the chocolate to harden for anywhere between 2-3 hours. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container.