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Created by Chef Remy
Tender, old-fashioned drop cookies with the gentle tang of buttermilk and a sparkle of sugar on top, soft enough to melt on your tongue and homey enough to make you feel like a kid at your grandmother's kitchen table.
Some cookies are about crunch. Some are about chew. These buttermilk sugar cookies are about tenderness, that soft, cakey quality that makes you close your eyes and reach for another before you've finished the first.
The buttermilk is everything here. It brings a subtle tang that balances the sweetness, and the acid reacts with the leavening to create the lightest, most pillowy texture you can get from a drop cookie. My grandmother Evangeline made these every Sunday afternoon. She kept a jar of them on the counter, and they never lasted past Tuesday. At Lagniappe, we serve a version with our coffee service, and guests ask for the recipe more than any other dessert we make.
The technique is simple but demands attention. Cream that butter until it's pale and fluffy. Alternate your wet and dry ingredients. And for heaven's sake, do not overbake them. A sugar cookie that crunches has lost its soul. You want them soft in the middle, barely golden at the edges, with that sparkly sugar coating cracking slightly as they cool.
Quantity
2 3/4 cups (345g)
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1 cup (2 sticks/226g)
softened
Quantity
1 1/2 cups (300g), plus 1/4 cup for rolling
Quantity
2
at room temperature
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1/2 cup
at room temperature
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| all-purpose flour | 2 3/4 cups (345g) |
| baking soda | 1/2 teaspoon |
| baking powder | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| freshly grated nutmeg | 1/4 teaspoon |
| unsalted buttersoftened | 1 cup (2 sticks/226g) |
| granulated sugar | 1 1/2 cups (300g), plus 1/4 cup for rolling |
| large eggsat room temperature | 2 |
| pure vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon |
| buttermilkat room temperature | 1/2 cup |
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg until everything is evenly distributed. That nutmeg is subtle but essential. My grandmother Evangeline always said a sugar cookie without nutmeg is just sweet flour. Set this bowl aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), beat the softened butter on medium speed for about one minute until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for four to five minutes, scraping down the sides twice, until the mixture is pale, fluffy, and has nearly doubled in volume. This is the foundation of your cookie's texture. Rush this step and you'll have dense, flat disappointments.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until fully incorporated. The mixture might look slightly curdled after the first egg, but it will smooth out. Add the vanilla with the second egg. Beat until the batter is smooth and glossy, about another minute.
Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix just until each addition disappears before adding the next. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky, like thick cake batter. Do not overmix or you will develop the gluten and end up with tough cookies.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface of the dough. Refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to three days. The dough needs to firm up enough to scoop without sticking to everything in sight. Cold dough also spreads less, giving you those pillowy, rounded tops.
When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour the remaining quarter cup of sugar into a small shallow bowl. Using a medium cookie scoop (about two tablespoons), portion the dough into balls. Roll each ball in the sugar until lightly coated on all sides. Place them two inches apart on the prepared sheets.
Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are barely golden and the tops look matte and set but still soft to the touch. They will appear slightly underdone. Trust your instincts here. The centers should not look wet, but they should not look dry either. They will firm up as they cool.
Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for five minutes. They are too tender to move right away. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely if you can stand to wait that long. They are honestly good at any temperature: warm from the oven with a glass of cold milk, or room temperature from the cookie jar the next day.
1 serving (about 30g)
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