If you’re from the Midwest, chances are you’re familiar with the Amish community. For those who don’t know, the Amish are traditionalist Christian group, many of whom live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Indiana. In their belief system, they try to avoid modern technology as much as possible and they emphasize simple living and humility. Still, the Amish are also very good craftspeople as anyone who has bought an Amish quilt or furniture knows. What you might not know, however, is that they can also bake a mean sugar cookie.
This recipe for Amish sugar cookies comes out of old, traditional recipes that have been around since the 1700s. For this to last that long, you know it has to be absolutely delicious. The results are sure to be some of the fluffiest, sweetest and most delicious cookies you’ve had in a long time.
Here’s what you need:
- 4 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar
- 1 cup of softened butter
- 1 cup of vegetable oil
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 cup of confectioners sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Here’s what you do:
1. First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and get a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. In the meantime, get a large bowl and throw in your flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Whisk them together so that they’re well-combined and set them to the side.
2. Here’s where you have a decision to make! If you have a stand mixer, throw on your paddle attachment and cream together your butter, oil and sugar on medium-high until the entire mixture is light and fluffy, scraping the sides whenever you need to. Still, for a truly Amish experience of this recipe, you ought not to use the technology and simply mix everything together by hand. We won’t tell anybody if you use a mixer though!
3. After you have a creamy mixture, add in your flour in three steps and keep scraping the bowl down throughout to make sure everything is evenly incorporated. If you’re using a stand-mixer, reduce the speed to low to do this part.
4. Now that the dough is ready, get a spoon and scoop out cookies onto the baking sheet in about two-tablespoon balls. Space them all about two inches apart.
5. Once your oven is ready to go, bake your cookies for eight to 10 minutes and watch for the edges to just slightly darken. Once that time is up, take the cookies out and let them cool off on the baking sheet to finish cooking all the way!
Although this recipe is incredibly simple, it makes cookies that are so fluffy and delicious. These are sure to be a family favorite as they have clearly stood the test of time! If you want to take this recipe even further, you can also do some basic modifications as you wish.
For an added blast of flavor, you can definitely frost these cookies with whatever frosting you prefer—though they’re also good with a little bit of jam or strawberry preserves on top. For a holiday-inspired cookie, simply roll the balls of dough around in a colored sugar of your choosing. If it’s Christmas, for example, use red and green sugar. Finally, this dough is also fine to freeze (as are the finished cookies, if you need to). If you’re going to bake straight from the freezer, though, be sure to add another three minutes or so to the cook time. Happy baking!
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