The Best Chewy Vanilla Sugar Cookies

1. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, briefly mix the sugar, melted butter, vegetable oil and softened cream cheese until just combined. (You can also do this with a hand whisk.) Add the eggs, milk, vanilla and lemon extract and whisk for 30 seconds, until well combined.
4. Swap the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment on your mixer and add the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture. Mix on low speed, just until it forms a moist dough. (Or, use a wooden spoon.)
5. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350 F.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment, foil or a non-stick baking liner. Put some granulated sugar in a shallow bowl (don’t add too much at first, you can always add more). Roll tablespoon-size balls of dough in your palms, roll them in the granulated sugar, place on the baking sheet and flatten slightly. Space cookies about 2 inches apart on the tray.
7. Bake for 10 minutes. The trick here is to take them out of the oven when they are just slightly underdone. They should look mostly set, and just slightly golden around the edges, but the centers will look a bit underdone.
8. Cool on a wire rack.