Bernard's Sugar Cookie Recipe | Hallmark Ideas & Inspiration (2024)

Bernard's Sugar Cookie Recipe | Hallmark Ideas & Inspiration (1)

By Bernard Shondell on September 8, 2016

Hallmark's cookie expert Bernard Shondell shares his recipe for a sugar cookie dough that delivers on taste as well as versatility. Discover what special ingredients go into his sugar cookies (like cream cheese) and get great baking tips that increase the odds for producing golden delicious masterpieces each time you open the oven door.

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Ingredients

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup vegetable shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

2 oz. cream cheese

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Directions

  1. Cream together butter, shortening, sugar and cream cheese.
  2. Add egg and both extracts to butter mixture until well incorporated.
  3. Combine last 3 ingredients, and then slowly add them to the wet mixture. Mix until well incorporated.
  4. Chill dough at least 1 hour, or overnight.
  5. Bake at 350° for 8 to 12 minutes. Remove at first indication of edges turning brown.

Learn how to turn your sugar cookies into the sweet faces of friends, family and pets.

Bernard's Baking Tips

  • I put my cookie dough into 1-gallon zip-top plastic bags to chill.
  • Use silver-colored baking sheets without edges.
  • Decorating the baked cookies the next day is ideal—if not, try to wait at least a few hours after they’ve come out of the oven.
  • Meringue powder is available at cake decorating stores and hobby and craft stores. But you can substitute fresh egg whites if you like—just use equal amounts of egg whites and water.
  • Tags:
  • Christmas cookies
  • cookie recipes

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Bernard's Sugar Cookie Recipe | Hallmark Ideas & Inspiration (2024)

FAQs

What ingredient keeps sugar cookies from spreading? ›

Cookies spread because the fat in the cookie dough melts in the oven. If there isn't enough flour to hold that melted fat, the cookies will over-spread. Spoon and level that flour or, better yet, weigh your flour. If your cookies are still spreading, add an extra 2 Tablespoons of flour to the cookie dough.

How do you enhance store bought sugar cookie dough? ›

No one will even suspect they're store-bought (and we won't tell anyone!).
  1. Add brown sugar. ...
  2. Experiment with extracts. ...
  3. Mix in different candies and snacks. ...
  4. Add espresso or coffee grounds. ...
  5. Deepen the flavors by refrigerating the dough. ...
  6. Salt before baking the cookies. ...
  7. Reduce baking time for extra soft cookies.

What is the origin of the sugar cookie recipe? ›

Let's have a hearty hip-hip-hooray for the German Protestants, who settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and invented the early sugar cookie. Their crumbly cookie made with butter and shaped into round or keystone shapes were a sweet hit from their formation in the late 1700s.

How do you spruce up sugar cookies? ›

There are a few things you can add to your ready - to - bake sugar cookies to give them more flavor . One option is to mix in some vanilla extract or almond extract to enhance the overall taste . You can also add in some cinnamon , nutmeg , or other spices to give the cookies a warm and cozy flavor .

What does cornstarch do in sugar cookies? ›

1. 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.

Why poke holes in sugar cookies? ›

The holes trick

There's also a new technique going around when preventing craters in a second layer of icing: poke holes in the base flood (under the area you'll cover with a second layer of icing). You can even do this when the first layer flood has completely dried!

What is a Nazareth sugar cookie? ›

The sugar cookie is believed to have originated in the mid-1700s in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. German Protestant settlers created a round, crumbly and buttery cookie that came to be known as the Nazareth cookie. Jumbles are the earliest form of sugar cookies.

What are some fun facts about sugar cookies? ›

The modern sugar cookie was originally called the Nazareth Sugar Cookie, after German Protestants who settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and improved the recipe. When forming the dough, they made the cookies resemble the state's keystone emblem.

What's the difference between a sugar cookie and a regular cookie? ›

What makes a sugar cookie a sugar cookie? A sugar cookie is a cookie that only uses granulated sugar to sweeten the cookie. Frequently, sugar cookies are also rolled out with a rolling pin and cut into shapes using cookie cutters prior to baking.

Should sugar cookies be hard or soft? ›

The very best sugar cookies are soft and tender. → Follow this tip: One of the keys to great sugar cookies is mixing the dry ingredients only until they're just incorporated, and not a second longer. Once the dry ingredients are added, less mixing equals more tender cookies.

What happens when you put too much sugar in cookies? ›

Excess Sugar and Fat

Measuring is key in baking. If your cookie contains excess sugar or fat, it will spread while baking.

What causes sugar cookies to be hard? ›

Hard cookies: you are over mixing, baking too long, baking at too high a temperature, or some combination of these. Cakey cookies: not enough brown sugar, too much or too little egg, too much flour, maybe you used baking powder instead of baking soda?

What helps sugar cookies not spread? ›

  1. The Rules for Making Sure Your Sugar Cookies Don't Spread.
  2. Rule No. 1: Bake at the Right Temperature.
  3. Rule No. 2: Don't Over or Under Cream Your Butter.
  4. Rule No. 3: Don't Over-Soften Your Butter.
  5. Rule No. 4: Don't Overcrowd the Baking Sheet.
  6. Rule No. 5: Make Sure Your Ingredients Have Not Expired.
  7. Rule No.
Dec 11, 2023

What ingredient makes cookies not spread? ›

Too Much Flour

This may seem counterintuitive—after all, isn't flour a key ingredient in baking? Yes, but if you add too much flour, your cookies won't spread as they bake. Too much flour causes the dough to become dry and crumbly, which prevents it from flattening out during baking.

What helps keep cookies from spreading? ›

Storing your dough in the fridge helps to harden the fat and prevent your cookies from spreading. Allow it to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

How do you keep sugar cookies from going flat? ›

Chill out.

30 minutes usually does the trick. Some people swear by chilling, and others don't. Personally, I've tried putting my cookies in the oven straight after cutting and placing on cookie sheets, and I didn't end up with a very flat sugar cookie.

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