Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies … what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear these words? Sugar Cookie. Do you think of Grandma’s house? Christmastime? Buttercream? Delicious? Melt in your mouth? For us, it’s all of the above — and then some!
EASY TO MAKE SUGAR COOKIES
With our easy, tasty recipe, you can wave good-bye to any “sugar cookie anxiety” you may have from past sugar-cookie-baking experiences. Not to bring up any bad memories, but let me ask — have you ever made sugar cookies that you had to chill before you bake them? Or how about the batches that melted out of shape as they baked? Or over-browned on the edges? Argh, we have too — and it’s no fun!
But this recipe, oh my, if we can be so bold, is the best sugar cookie recipe. This recipe is perfect for cutout cookies because it keeps its shape as it bakes. No more melted cookies or puffed-up shapes that no longer resemble the shape you were hoping for. These sugar cookies take out all the guess work.
SIMPLE, SWEET AND SAVORY VANILLA BEAN SUGAR COOKIES
Perhaps one of the most delicious cookies in its simplicity, our sugar cookies are sweet and savory. The warm, sugary flavor melts perfectly with the beautiful vanilla specs that fleck aromatic notes throughout this morsel. The perfect combination of soft and crisp, these cookies have a buttery texture that makes having “just one more” irresistible.
While these sugar cookies are perfection on their own, adding a swirl of buttercream on top is glorious on these cookies.
QUALITY INGREDIENTS IN VANILLA BEAN SUGAR COOKIES
Here at Natures Yoke we are all about the same traditions you are, like family, friends and community. We believe it’s important to provide the very best for those we love. This includes our eggs. We pour so much love into our hens (who we also consider family) so they can continue laying delicious, nutrition-filled eggs. You may be wondering what eggs have to do with these cookies, the short answer…a whole lot.
Eggs provide leavening, richness and structure to these cookies. One might even say eggs are the foundation of a good cookie. The fresher and better quality your eggs are, the better your cookies will be. Our Omega-3 free range eggs are the star of these sugar cookies. Did you know that Omega-3 fatty acids are known to support heart health, help decrease inflammation, improve sleep and much more? Who knew all that wellness could be found in an egg — let alone a cookie.
Another important quality to these cookies are the flecks of vanilla bean. What’s in a bean? Well, when the bean is a vanilla bean, all the flavor you could ask for! The vanilla bean comes from the orchid plant. Inside each seed pod there are thousands of little, tiny, microscopic seeds. These seeds are hardly visible to the eye. In fact, the culinary world often refers to them in a recipe as a “spec”. This is an accurate description. But make no mistake, those little specs in your sugar cookies give a heightened fruity and floral flavor that we all know and love.
OTHER SUGAR COOKIE FLAVORS
We love these Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies just the way they are but did you know that with a few revisions you can tweak the flavor? Take a look at some suggestions below:
- Lemon — remove the almond extract and add 1 Tbsp. lemon zest.
- Orange — Add 1/2 Tbsp. orange zest. We like the almond extract with the orange but if you want to remove it you can.
- Almond — Bump up the almond extract to 1 tsp. Switch out the vanilla bean for a 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.
BEST VANILLA BEAN SUGAR COOKIE TOPPINGS
- American Buttercream — can be piped on or spread on with a butter knife. That’s what we used here.
- Sprinkles — they just make everything so much fun and will work great with either option above.
BAKING TIPS FOR THE BEST VANILLA BEAN SUGAR COOKIES
- Make sure all your ingredients are room temperature. This will allow for even baking throughout the whole cookie.
- As mentioned above your cutout cookies will not require chilling prior to baking. However, sometimes the dough can get soft. This can be from butter that is too soft or a warm kitchen. If you find that your dough is sticking to the parchment as it is getting rolled out, go ahead and chill the dough for 10-15 minutes.
- These cutouts will not spread very much so you will only need to place the cookies 1/2 inch apart which will allow for more cookies on your cookie sheet.
- These cookies will turn golden brown slightly on the edges but most of the cookie will stay a light color.
Your toughest decision now is whether to serve milk, coffee or tea with your cookies.
The Best Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Nature's Yoke Omega-3 Free Range Eggs
- 1 vanilla bean, seed scraped and removed from pod
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Buttercream Frosting
- 2 lbs confectioners sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 ºF.
- Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In medium bowl add flour, salt and baking powder. Stir to combine and set aside
- In bowl or mixer cream the butter for 30 seconds.
- Add sugar and continue mixing until completely combined.
- Add egg and mix until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy.
- With mixer on low/med add in the vanilla bean seeds and almond extract.
- Add flour mixture a little bit at a time and mix until just combined. Dough should form and come together as mixed.
- Divide dough into 3 balls.
- Roll out the first dough ball between two pieces of parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut out your cookies as desired. Transfer cut outs to your prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake 8-10 minutes or until cookies are set and edges have begun to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and in 5 minutes transfer to cooling rack.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough until all cookies are baked.
Buttercream
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter.
- Start adding sugar in small increments alternating with milk as needed.
- Add vanilla extract. Mix until completely smooth and creamy.
- Spread or pipe onto cooled sugar cookies.
