Soft Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

These vanilla bean sugar cookies are rolled in sugar for a sparkling appearance and a soft, light and chewy texture that will make these your new favorite!

The ONLY sugar cookie recipe you’ll need!  Soft and chewy, these sugar cookies practically melt in your mouth, and are bursting with vanilla flavor!

I can’t even tell you all how many different sugar cookie recipes I’ve tried over the years… it’s a LOT.  They were all good, but not spectacularly amazing, which is what I was searching for.  Well here it is you guys… I found a recipe on Pinterest and tweaked it a little and found the holy grail of cookies.  My kids went crazy over these, as did my parents, grandparents, well pretty much everyone I’ve shared these with 😉

There are 3 secrets that make these the best cookies EVER!  I guess they’re not really secrets, but they’re definitely key steps.

1. Use a 1:1 butter and sugar ratio for that perfect balance of buttery flavor and sweetness.
2. Chilling the dough before baking.  This gives you an easier to handle dough and gives you a nice fluffy cookie.
3. Rolling the cookie balls in granulated sugar not only gives the cookies that sparkling appearance, but it creates an awesome sugar “crust” that gives the cookie a nice crispiness on the outside, then that super fluffy, soft inside.

Making the cookies is really simple, plus you get the added fun of smooshing, (yes, it’s a very technical culinary term) the cookie dough balls down into disks of even thickness.  Plus, if you have kids, rolling the cookie dough into balls is something they’ll love to help you with!

Notice how the cookies aren’t really golden?  As they’re baking, once you see the edges of the cookies barely turning golden, pull them from the oven.

These sugar cookies are a perfect gift to give around the holidays… to a hostess of a party you’re attending, a neighbor you want to thank, or just about anyone!  Although, they’re so good, make sure to bake an extra batch for yourself too 😉

I’m a sugar cookie purist, so I like mine just the way they are… but if you want to spread some glaze on the top of these bad boys, go right ahead 🙂

When you’re planning your Christmas baking… don’t forget to save a spot for these sugar cookies… you won’t be disappointed!

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Soft Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

4.84 from 6 votes

Author: The Chunky Chef

Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Cook Time: 9 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 19 minutes

Calories: 212

Servings: 24 - 36 cookies

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These vanilla bean sugar cookies are rolled in sugar for a sparkling appearance and a soft, light and chewy texture that will make these your new favorite!

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1 tsp fine sea salt
• ▢ 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• ▢ 3 sticks unsalted butter softened (1 1/2 cups )
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar + extra for rolling
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Instructions

• Combine flour, baking powder, salt and ginger in a medium mixing bowl, whisk to eliminate any lumps, and set aside.
• Add softened butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on MED-HIGH speed for 3 minutes or more to cream the butter and sugar together. The butter should be fluffy and almost white in color.
• Add eggs and vanilla bean paste (or extract) and beat on LOW for an additional 30 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary.
• Add in the flour mixture in thirds, beating on LOW to just combine in between additions. Continue to scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to 1 day.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Add extra granulated sugar to a small bowl. Use a small cookie scoop or spoon out dough and roll into 1 inch size balls. Drop balls, one at a time, into the sugar bowl and roll them around to coat the ball completely in sugar. Place balls on baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
• Using a small drinking glass, dip the bottom in the sugar bowl and then use the sugared bottom of the glass to flatten the balls to about 1/2 inch thick.
• Bake for approximately 9-10 minutes, until the cookie edges are just barely golden.
• Cool on cooling racks.

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Chef Tips

** recipe adapted from A Spicy Perspective

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