Sometimes dessert doesn't need to be anything more than a simple butter cookie. During the Easter holiday, I found myself baking a number of cookies to freeze for both the holiday and what I consider a rainy day. I like to have a few dozen cookies in my freezer in case I need to bring a quick dessert to a friend's house or one of the kids are visiting and want to take some homemade goodies back home.
I opened a box of Land O Lakes Butter and noticed a recipe inside the box that read: Sugar Dipped Butter Cookies. Sometimes, I'm interested in making a dessert that is unexpected and the recipe is right in front of me. I grabbed the butter and set out to make the cookies. The recipe was basic and with 6 ingredients I was ready in less than five minutes. With the batter made, I was ready to roll butter cookies.
The fascinating part of making these cookies was rolling them in water. For the hundreds of thousands of cookies I have made over the years, I have never rolled cookies in water before coating them with sugar. After I got the first batch in the oven, I couldn't wait to see what they looked like when they were finished baking. The sugar was hardened and crackly and the cookies smelled wonderful.
My mother-in-law loves traditional style cookies. She loves desserts she can enjoy with her tea. I let her sample the first cookie and she wanted to take a few next door with her to keep for her daily tea. OK, Fan #1 of the butter cookies, let's keep going. Jeff was coming through the kitchen, looking for his evening scoop of ice cream. As he left with a dish of rainbow sherbet, I sat a cookie on the top of his scoop. Five minutes later I got the request, "Trish, can you bring me another one of those cookies?" Fan #2...let's keep going. As I got the last tray of cookies out of the oven, I grabbed a cookie to taste myself. PERFECT! It was buttery and melted in your mouth. The sugar coating was crunchy and added just enough sweetness to the cookie.
The next morning I decided I would have sugar-dipped butter cookies for breakfast, as Jeff would say, just because I can. They were still amazing. They tasted like little sugary muffins and dipping them in my coffee was HEAVEN! For as much as I am the ultimate chocolate freak, I truly enjoyed these buttery delights.
If you are looking for something a little different, yet traditional, these sugar dipped butter cookies are perfect.
Ingredients for Sugar-Dipped Butter Cookies: (adapted from Land O Lakes)
1 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of butter, softened
1 egg
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 bowl of water and 3/4 cup of sugar for dipping and rolling cookies
Preparation:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter with the sugar (by hand or mixer), until creamy, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the egg and mix well.
4. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, mix by hand until incorporated.
5. With a tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball, dip in water and then roll in the sugar. Place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned.
Makes 4-5 dozen cookies.