Vanilla Cookie Dough
This is one of the best cookie doughs to keep on hand in your freezer, especially if you have kids. Whether you are in need of a rainy day activity or a last-minute gift, pulling this dough out of the refrigerator or freezer, prerolled, gives you a solution at your fingertips. The only effort you will need to make depends on how you choose to decorate the cookies. Because this is such a simple cookie, imperfections in the dough will be hard to hide. For that reason, it is especially important to beat the butter and brown sugar until they are completely smooth. Any lumps of either ingredient will cause noticeable imperfections in the baked cookie and make the cookie more difficult to decorate.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 1 to 4 dozen cookies (depending on the size of the cookies cutters)
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl and set aside.
Step 2
Beat the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment at high speed until it is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Step 3
Add the brown sugar, crumbling it with your hands as you add it to get rid of any lumps. Mix on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula halfway through mixing to ensure that the butter and sugar are well mixed.
Step 4
Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Again, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure that the ingredients are incorporated.
Step 5
Add approximately half the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining flour. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure the flour is fully incorporated.
Step 6
Empty the dough onto a floured surface and gently push it together. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a flat disk 1 to 2 inches thick. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
Step 7
Once the dough has chilled, it can be rolled and used as directed (see Rolling Dough, page 10), or frozen in sheets (wrapped tightly on a sheet pan or piece of cardboard with plastic wrap) until needed or up to 2 months.
Step 8
Cut and bake rolled dough as directed.
Fashion emergency
Step 9
Molasses is what makes brown sugar brown, but when it is exposed to air, it can lose its moisture and harden the sugar. To mitigate against this problem, try transferring leftover brown sugar from the box into a resealable plastic freezer bag and then storing the bag inside an airtight container. If your brown sugar hardens, you can soften it by microwaving it on high for 30 seconds, then crumble it with your hands and use it immediately. If the sugar is still hard or chunky after microwaving, discard it.
