Grandma's Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Recipe (2024)

Please note: Posts may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. For more of our disclosure policy, click here. For more of our privacy and cookie policy, click here. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying Amazon.com Services LLC purchases.

If you enjoy baking vintage homemade cookie recipes, try Grandma’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Recipe! This is a traditional sugar cookie that uses few ingredients and is not complicated to make. This is a great cookie for all occasions.

Grandma’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Recipe

Cookies are such a versatile little dessert and are very similar to muffins and cupcakes in that they have countless flavor options. That is why so many cookie flavors can be made into a cookie bar, muffin, or cupcake flavor.

This is an old-fashioned recipe. The ingredients are pretty true, but be aware that the baking times may vary with your oven, as well as how thickly (or thinly) you have rolled out these cookies.

How to Make Great Grandmother’s Sugar Cookies

1. Make the dough – Cream together the butter and sugar. Whip the mixture, adding in one egg at a time. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.
2. Chill – Chill until the dough can be handled without making a mess.
3. Roll out – Roll out the dough, cut out shapes if desired. Add sprinkles at this time.
4. Bake – Bake on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees for 5-8 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Tips and Variations for making this Grandma’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Recipe:

● My usual method is to roll out some dough, cut, and then take the scraps from that roll and add some new dough to it. That way you do not have an over-floured dough that will make your cookies too dry/tough.
● Skip the cookie cutters – If you do not have or do not want to use cookie cutters, simply roll the dough into 1-inch balls and flatten them a bit with a sugared round glass bottom.
● Color the sugar! This is a great tutorial on how to make colored sugar at home.
● These cookies do not frost well as they are not as dense as some sugar cookie doughs, which is why the sugared tops make for easy decorating.
● To color the dough, just add some food gel or food coloring to the batter to get the color of cookie you desire. However, be aware that some food gels may make the batter a little sticky. This will make it harder to work with.
● Change up the flavors – Use other extract flavors to easily change up the flavor profile of the cookies. For example, instead of vanilla extract, you can use lemon, orange, hazelnut, rum, etc. If you want a stronger flavor profile, double the extract amount.
● Make them chewy – If you like a chewier cookie, you can always add one more egg. If you like your cookies a little crispier, keep the recipe as is.
● Storage – Place in an airtight container and place in a cool, dry place, in the fridge, or in the freezer. Store these cookies separated by wax or parchment paper in the freezer for up to 3 months. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and outside the fridge for up to 5 days.
● Reheating – don’t do it.

Common Questions About Great Grandmother’s Sugar Cookies

Why Are My Sugar Cookies Hard?

You have either overcooked the cookies or when you have rolled the dough you have added too much flour. Use this tip: My usual method is to roll out some dough, cut, and then take the scraps from that roll and add some new dough to it. That way you do not have an over-floured dough that will make your cookies too dry/tough – to decrease tough cookie dough.

Are Snickerdoodles and Sugar Cookies the Same?

Many snickerdoodle recipes call for a base cookie mixture that is similar to sugar cookies. The biggest difference between snickerdoodles and sugar cookies is the fact that snickerdoodles are coated in a cinnamon-sugar mixture before being baked, and snickerdoodles puff up. Sugar cookies are much more versatile and are often frosted, covered in sprinkles, etc.

If you like homemade cookie recipes, try these:

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Brown Butter Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies Recipe
Spiced Molasses Cookies Recipe

Grandma’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Recipe Ingredients:

● 1 cup Butter
● 1 cup White Granulated Sugar
● 3 Eggs
● ½ tsp Vanilla
● ½ tsp Nutmeg
● 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
● 1 tsp Baking Soda
● 3 cup Flour

Grandma’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Mise en Place:

Measuring Spoons
Measuring Cup
Stand Mixer (bowl, beater, etc)
Cookie Sheet(s)
Wire Rack

Grandma’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Recipe Directions:

1. Using a stand mixer, cream butter, and sugar together.

2. Add eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy.

3. Add vanilla, nutmeg, cream of tartar, baking soda, and flour. (You may want to put the nutmeg, cream of tartar, and baking soda in with the first cup of flour, mix and then add the rest of the flour slowly. I usually end up mixing the last cup of flour in by hand.)

4. Chill until easy to handle. If chilling the dough overnight, cover with plastic wrap.

5. Roll out small portions of cookie dough onto a floured table to about 1/8″ thick.

6. Cut with a cookie cutter and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Sprinkle with colored sugar.

8. Bake at 425°F for 5-8 minutes.

9. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Yield: 1

Grandma's Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Recipe

Grandma's Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Recipe (15)

Grandma's Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Recipe. If you enjoy baking vintage homemade cookie recipes, try Grandma's Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Recipe! This is a traditional sugar cookie that uses few ingredients and is not complicated to make. This is a great cookie for all occasions.

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time8 minutes

Additional Time2 hours

Total Time2 hours 18 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Butter
  • 1 cup White Granulated Sugar
  • 3 Eggs
  • ½ tsp Vanilla
  • ½ tsp Nutmeg
  • 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 3 cup Flour

Instructions

    1. Using a stand mixer, cream butter, and sugar together.
    2. Add eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy.
    3. Add vanilla, nutmeg, cream of tartar, baking soda, and flour. (I put the nutmeg, cream of tartar, and baking soda in with the first cup of flour, mix and then add the rest of the flour slowly. I usually end up mixing the last cup of flour in by hand.)
    4. Chill until easy to handle. If chilling the dough overnight, cover with plastic wrap.
    5. Roll out small portions of cookie dough onto a floured table to about 1/8" thick.
    6. Cut with a cookie cutter and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
    7. Sprinkle with colored sugar.
    8. Bake at 425°F for 5-8 minutes.
    9. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

48

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 84Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 61mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 1g

Note: for exact nutritional information, consult your dietitian. All nutritional information provided is simply a guideline.

● For more Recipes on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.

● If you enjoyed this post, be sure to sign up for the Ann’s Entitled Life weekly newsletter, and never miss another article!

Grandma's Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does cream of tartar do in sugar cookies? ›

Cream of tartar makes cookies chewy, as it precludes the sugar in the dough from crystalizing, which would lead to crispiness (ie: the opposite of chewiness).

What is the secret to making cookies soft? ›

Cornstarch is a game changer for cookie baking,” confirms Brian Hart Hoffman, editor in chief of Bake from Scratch. “You can count on [it for] a softer and more tender crumb.”

What does brown sugar do to a cookie vs granulated sugar? ›

In that role, white sugar aerates the dough when creamed with butter for thick and puffy cookies. Brown sugar, meanwhile, is dense and compacts easily, creating fewer air pockets during creaming—that means that there's less opportunity to entrap gas, creating cookies that rise less and spread more.

Can I omit cream of tartar in sugar cookies? ›

The Best Substitute for Cream of Tartar

For every 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar in the recipe, use 1 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar. As an example, if your cookie recipe calls for 1 teaspoon baking soda, add 2 teaspoons lemon juice instead of the cream of tartar.

How important is baking soda in sugar cookies? ›

Baking soda also serves another important purpose when it comes to cookies: It encourages spreading by raising the mixture's pH, which slows protein coagulation. This gives the dough more time to set before the eggs set, which results in a more evenly baked cookie.

What ingredient will keep cookies soft? ›

Eggs, particularly egg yolks. Eggs work to make your cookies soft in two ways: They add a ton of moisture, and the proteins add structure that prevents spreading. Cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. Low in protein and high in moisture, cake flour is used to leaven all sorts of baked goods.

Why do you put cornstarch in sugar cookies? ›

Cookies. Cornstarch does kind of incredible things to cookies. I mean not only does it give them soft centers, prevents them from spreading, and makes them somewhat thick (in a good way), but it also contributes to the chewiness factor, which, in my opinion, is the most important cookie attribute.

What makes cookies chewy and not hard? ›

Use Melted Butter

If the goal is a chewy cookie, then you absolutely need to be using melted butter. The technique of creaming softened butter and sugar together is often used for making cakes. And for good reason! The process of creaming incorporates air into the butter which results in a more airy and cakey cookie.

Is it better to use powdered sugar or granulated sugar in sugar cookies? ›

Powdered sugar has a much finer texture and a higher cornstarch content, which can absorb moisture and lead to a drier, crumbly cookie texture. If you use powdered sugar in place of granulated sugar, you'll likely end up with cookies that are more cake-like and less chewy.

What happens if you forget to add brown sugar to cookies? ›

What happens when you bake without brown sugar? To be succinct, the resulting baked good could be slightly drier or more crisp. Without the excess moisture from the molasses in the brown sugar, the final cookie won't be as chewy and the final bread might be drier.

What does melted butter do to cookies? ›

Using melted butter in cookies helps you achieve a similar fudgy-yet-cooked texture and prevents any unwanted cakiness. Instead of the rise coming from both chemical and physical leavening agents (baking soda/powder + creamed butter), it now comes almost exclusively from chemical agents alone.

What makes sugar cookies too hard? ›

Working the dough too much.

bad habit of mixing in the dry ingredients until they were completely incorporated. And then mixing the dough even more, for no good reason. Thankfully I was eventually steered in the right direction. Over-working the dough yields a tough cookie, which is not at all what you want.

Should sugar cookies be thick or thin? ›

Don't roll out the cookies too thin. Most sugar cookies bake great when rolled out to 1/4-inch thick. Don't overbake! Cookies should just barely be turning a golden color around the edges.

What does cream of tartar do for dough? ›

Achieving a good rise is essential for light and airy bread. Cream of tartar acts as a natural leavening agent when combined with baking soda. When the cream of tartar reacts with baking soda and moisture in the dough, carbon dioxide gas is released, causing the bread to rise.

How does cream of tartar affect royal icing? ›

Cream of tartar is one of the more mysterious yet most common ingredients in baking. It can also be one of the more elusive ones to find in some countries! Cream of tartar is often included in royal icing recipes, as one of its key functions is to stabilize whipped egg whites.

How to improve sugar cookie mix? ›

Easy Add-In: After creating the dough according to the sugar cookie mix instructions, Add 2 tablespoons of sour cream to create a tangier, cakier and all-around more flavorful cookie. Flavor Twist: For a punchier twist, swap the water in the sugar cookie mix instructions for rum, bourbon or coffee liqueur.

What happens if you add too much cream of tartar? ›

Keep in mind that more cream of tartar doesn't necessarily mean a better, more stable result. “Too much cream of tartar will impart a metallic, tin-like taste,” Molly warns.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Nathanial Hackett

Last Updated:

Views: 6403

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (52 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Nathanial Hackett

Birthday: 1997-10-09

Address: Apt. 935 264 Abshire Canyon, South Nerissachester, NM 01800

Phone: +9752624861224

Job: Forward Technology Assistant

Hobby: Listening to music, Shopping, Vacation, Baton twirling, Flower arranging, Blacksmithing, Do it yourself

Introduction: My name is Nathanial Hackett, I am a lovely, curious, smiling, lively, thoughtful, courageous, lively person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.