¼CupSparkling White Sugar or White Granulated Sugar
Instructions
Using the large bowl of a stand mixer and a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until they are light in color and fluffy in texture.
1 Cup Salted Butter, 1 ½ Cups White Granulated Sugar
Add the eggs and the vanilla and continue to beat for 4 minutes.
2 Large Eggs, 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
While the mixture creams, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground nutmeg onto a piece of parchment paper or into a medium bowl.
Reduce speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients and mix well.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it for at least two hours.
Preheat the oven to 400°F/204°C. Take teaspoons of the dough and roll it into balls about 1-¼” in diameter (20 grams each). Dip the balls into sparkling white sugar or roll them in white granulated sugar. Place them sugar side up and 2 ½” apart on an ungreased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
¼ Cup Sparkling White Sugar or White Granulated Sugar
Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are just barely beginning to brown. Remove from oven and let them cool for 1 minute on the sheet, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
My Top Tips♡ Rolling the entire ball of cookie dough in white granulated sugar will make the cookie sweeter and the top of the cookie will have a more crackled look.♡ When using colored sprinkles and sugars dip and roll only the top and sides of the balls of dough to get good coverage of color on only the top of the cookie. Colored decorative sugar is more expensive so this will save you money.♡ A scale is very helpful in portioning out the dough. I found that 20 grams of dough will make a 3" cookie.♡ You can reduce the chill time to 1 hour by putting the wrapped dough in the freezer.Substitutions& VariationsSubstitute Shortening. You can use shortening for part of the butter.Omit the Nutmeg. Ground nutmeg is optional and can be omitted to save money.Use Colored Decorative Sugars and Jimmies. Make these sugar cookies festive with bright-colored sugars or jimmies to match a holiday or celebration. You can use red for Christmas and Valentine's Day, green for St. Patrick's, and celebrate your favorite team with their colors.EquipmentThis recipe mixes very easily with the help of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. However, if you don't have a stand mixer you can use a hand mixer.If you use a hand mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the creamed ingredients by adding ¼ of the dry ingredients at a time until the mixer slows. Then mix in the remaining dry ingredients by hand using a wooden spoon.If you do not have any type of mixer you can alternate between the "mix by hand" method and using a wooden spoon to make the cookie dough.Make-Ahead & StorageYou can make the dough in advance, roll it into balls for individual cookies and freeze the balls on a parchment line baking sheet. Once frozen, the cookie dough balls can be transferred to a sealed freezer container or plastic freezer storage bag.The frozen cookie dough balls will keep for one month and a few cookies can be baked as needed. Thaw the frozen cookie dough balls, roll them in sugar, place them on a parchment line baking sheet, and then bake.Baked cookies will stay chewy when stored in a sealed airtight container:At Room Temperature for 3 to 4 Days, orFrozen for One Month.