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Dec 9, 2015

Chewy Sugar Cookies for Santa

Welcome to Day 3 of Christmas Week. A huge group of talented bloggers joined forces to bring you some holiday cheer. We hope you love all the festive recipes we're offering up this week. Be sure to enter the giveaway to win some amazing prizes.

Chewy Sugar Cookies for Santa

Do you like your sugar cookies crispy or chewy? I like both, but when I think of the traditional sugar cookie, I always think "chewy" and coated in sparkling sugar.

My favorite cookies growing up were made by Van de Kamp's, a family-run company that was based in Los Angeles (the name still exists, but it's not even close to being the same company). They made the best grocery store chocolate chip cookies ever, and their sugar cookies were absolutely the best dunked in milk. So good. It's what I think of when I think of sugar cookies. These cookies come pretty close (now, if someone could give me a recipe to recreate Sunshine custard sandwich cookies, especially the chocolate ones.... ).

I think these cookies are perfect for Santa's cookie plate!

Chewy Sugar Cookies for Santa

These are really easy to make too. You can pretty much have fresh and chewy sugar cookies within an hour.

Crackly on top, kind of crispy on the edges, and chewy in the middle. In my mind, the epitome of the perfect sugar cookie.

Chewy Sugar Cookies for Santa

Chewy Sugar Cookies Recipe

Makes about 36 cookies. Adapted from King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. They've just added a gluten free chapter. 

Ingredients

3/4 cups (6 ounces) unsalted butter
3/4 cups (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces) brown sugar
1/4 cup (2 3/4 ounces by weight) corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 cup sparkling, sanding, or granulated sugar to coat the cookies

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 
  2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. 
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugars, corn syrup, vanilla, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and egg. Add the flour, and mix on low until just combined. 
  4. Fill a small bowl with the sanding sugar.
  5. Using a tablespoon cookie scoop or a tablespoon, scoop out the dough and roll it in the sugar. Place the dough on the baking sheet. You should be able to fit twelve cookies on each baking sheet. 
  6. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 10 minutes. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack. 
  7. Fix a plate for Santa. 



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Recipes from Day 3 of Christmas Week! Please visit all our talented participants:

Would you like to comment?

  1. I am pretty sure that not just Santa would love these cookies :)

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  2. Karen you're on a roll loves the cookies

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    1. Thank you! Yep, it's been that kind of week!

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  3. Karen, I searched two grocery stores for sparkling sugar, no luck..... I really want to make your previous recipe and now you tempt me with yet another sparkling goodie..... I will try two more places this weekend, if nothing works amazon will be put to work.....

    😜

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    1. Hey Sally, white Sprinkles by Wilton from Michael's or JoAnn's would work. Have you tried that? I got mine online from King Arthur Flour, and also got some from a local restaurant supply. I really think regular granulated sugar or Demerara sugar would work too. I actually made some with the green and red colored Sprinkles by Wilton and the grandsons thought they tasted better, lol.

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  4. Love to make spritz cookies and this sparkling sugar would be pretty on them

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    1. I have yet to try spritz cookies but I just bought one of the gadgets! =)

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  5. These look delicious, I love mine chewy too~

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  6. These cookies are beyond gorgeous! With all the fancy cookies running around these days, a simple sugar cookie with sparkling sugar is a winner in my book:)

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  7. These remind me of childhood favorite sugar cookies, too! I look forward to making them.

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  8. I love to make buckeyes and peppermint bark!!

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  9. I love a good sugar cookie! Nothing beats its simplicity. And chewy to boot?! I'm in!!

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  10. Karen,
    I like a variety on my cookie plates--for the neighbors and for Santa. Too many competing dominant cookies don't do it for me--I like the quiet kind of cookie that just tastes damn good. Kind of like I imagine these cookies to taste.

    I've got . . . oh, so many kinds of coarse sugar in my pantry. You'd think I was a cookie blogger, not a farm share blogger! (I do have 3 colors of carrots in the crisper and hope that redeems me)

    Thanks!

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  11. To me there's nothing better than cookies coated in sugar. I could eat these all the live long day. Thanks so much for joining us for Christmas Week. Happy Holidays Karen, hope you an amazing one!! xx

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