Perfect Chewy Sugar Cookies

Do you ever have those days where you plan to eat healthy, but then you feel like baking something that is decidedly unhealthy?

Do you ever tell yourself you will eat just 1 cookie even though you’re baking 2-dozen?

Do you ever eat more (perhaps many more) than the 1 cookie and think that it’s totally worth it?

These cookies are totally worth it. Trust me. I think they are kind of perfect (hence the name).

Perfect Chewy Sugar Cookies
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling
2 ounces cream cheese, cold and cut into 8 pieces
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and still warm
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the oven rack in the middle position. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. Place 1/3 cup of sugar in a shallow dish (like a pie plate) and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cream cheese, and warm butter. Add in the oil and whisk to combine. Then, whisk in the egg, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a rubber spatula to mix until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces (I divided the dough using my small cookie scoop—scooping the dough into mounds on a large plate, 2 scoops per cookie; alternately you can measure out 2 tablespoons per cookie or use a #40 scoop). After dividing out the dough, roll the mounds of dough into balls with your hands and then roll them in the prepared dish of sugar (be gentle and quick so that you do not overwork the dough). Place the sugar coated dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets with 12 cookies per sheet.

With the bottom of a drinking glass or measuring cup, flatten the dough balls slightly so that they have a diameter of about 2 inches. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with sugar, about 4 teaspoons (2 teaspoons per sheet).

Bake 1 tray of cookies at a time for about 11 to 13 minutes (rotating the sheets at 7 minutes), until the edges of the cookies are set and just beginning to brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

See more: Cookies