Sugar cookies. It sounds so basic, but since baking is a science, there is much that can be understood about it. Follow the tips included to ensure success and become the neighborhood cookie queen! Here are two recipes you’re sure to enjoy. One is for a scoop or drop sugar cookie and the other is for a roll-out dough. For rolled-out cookies, you’ll need a sturdier dough that can hold up to all the abuse it will take. Once you’ve found your favorite cookie recipe, some simple adjustments can give you multiple variations.

Directions

Prepare the Drop Sugar Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).

2. In a medium bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. Set aside.

3. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream sugar and butter for five minutes. Scrape down bowl once during mixing. Turn mixer to low and add eggs and vanilla. Slowly add dry ingredients, then beat for 30 seconds.

4. Scoop dough using a mini cookie scoop and roll into one-inch (three-centimeter) balls.

5. Roll each ball in sugar and place on a baking sheet, leaving one and a half inches (four centimeters) between cookies.

6. Bake in the center of the oven for nine to 11 minutes, just until edges start to brown.

Tips:
Don’t overmix your dough, it will produce a tough dough.

Make sure your butter is cold, since warm butter will cause your cookies to spread too much.

Creaming the butter and sugar is crucial — it beats air into your dough, and that’s what puffs up your cookie.

Always add salt to your dough, it enhances the sweetness of the cookie.

Always measure the ingredients accurately.

Variations:
• For a more caramelized flavor, replace regular sugar with 1 and 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar.

For chocolate cookies, replace 3 cups flour with 2 and 2/3 cups flour and 1/2 cup Dutch cocoa.

Prepare the Roll-Out Cookie Dough

1. In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients.

2. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar for a full five minutes. Scrape down bowl once during mixing. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Cover dough and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

3. When ready to roll out, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).

4. Roll out dough on parchment paper to 1/4- to 1/2-inch (one- to two-centimeter) thickness. Cut out desired shapes, leaving one and a half inches (four centimeters) between cookies, and remove excess dough. Re-roll extra dough and use in another round of cookies. Gently transfer the parchment paper to a baking sheet.

5. Bake in the center of the oven for six to eight minutes.

Tips:

Don’t overbake the cookies, they should look slightly underdone.

A lower oven temperature with a longer baking time yields a crispy cookie. A higher oven temperature with a shorter baking time yields a chewy cookie.

If you’d like to replace the butter with oil, use three-fourths of the amount in the recipe. It will result in a crispier cookie.

Variations:
Once cookies have cooled, they can be frosted.

You can dip half of the cookie into melted chocolate and top it with chopped nuts or candies.

You can make sandwich cookies by filling the cookies with jam, hazelnut spread, or a filling of your choice.