Sugar Savvy

There are many cupcake devotees out there, but I think my heart will always belong to the cookie. The number of cookie recipes is inexhaustible, but as much as I like to try new things, I often find myself whipping up a batch of the basics. For me, there are seven essential types of cookies: chocolate chip, oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate, molasses, and sugar cookies, plus brownies. (Yes, brownies are a type of cookie.)

I’d like to share my favorite recipe for each of these categories. Kicking off this series is (perhaps) the most basic cookie of all — the sugar cookie.

Now, my essential sugar cookie is not a roll-out recipe. Those are fun to decorate, but my favorite sugar cookie is a chewy drop cookie with a hint of lemon. It’s classic, it’s delicious, and it’s essential!

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
1-1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. butter, room temperature
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. lemon zest
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 egg
extra sugar for rolling

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and lemon zest. Beat in the lemon juice and egg, then stir in the flour mixture. Roll tablespoons of dough in extra sugar to coat. Place the ball of dough on a greased baking sheet and flatten slightly with a spatula. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to racks to cool completely. Yields about 3 dozen small cookies.