Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Get your sheet pan(s) ready as well. For my cookies, I used a Silpat, but feel free to use parchment paper! Just watch the bottoms of your cookies.

2. Next, get your mixer out and cream your room temperature butter and sugars with a paddle attachment. While your butter/sugars are creaming, sift together your flour, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Set that bowl aside.

3. Once your butter mix is light and fluffy, add your room temperature egg. Mix well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix again.

4. Add your zest and your lemon juice; mix and scrape bowl again.

5. Lastly, on a low speed, add your flour mix into the creamed mixture and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, this will make a tough cookie (and not in a good way).

6. Using a 1 1/2″ ice cream scoop, scoop dough and form into balls. Feel free to use whatever you want, but keep in mind using something different will change the amount of cookies you get AND might alter the baking time.

7. Put the remaining 1/4 cup vanilla sugar in a shallow bowl. Place the balls of dough in the sugar a few at a time and roll around, covering all of the surface! Place balls on the cookie sheet about 2″ apart from each other. They will flatten out.

8. Once all your dough is formed into balls and covered in sugar, place cookie sheet in the oven and bake about 15 minutes. What you’re looking for is a flattened out cookie, cracking on the top and slightly golden brown around the edges. This will make a chewy cookie (perfect for ice cream sandwiches). If you want them a little crispier, bake another minute or two.

9. Let cool and enjoy!

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s “Cookies” book.