How to Control the Shape and Texture of Cut-out Sugar Cookies | Cookbook Companion pg 111

I’m so excited to have partnered with my favorite small business and cookbook store here in LA, Now Serving, to offer signed copies of my cookbook, Dessert Course.

Cut Out Sugar Cookies (yield: 1–2 dozen cookies, depending on their size)

1½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (114g) refined coconut oil
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
1½ cups (195g) cake flour, sifted
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon table salt

1. Make the cookie dough following the creaming method (mix the sugar with the fats; add the eggs, vanilla, and almond; finish with the dry ingredients).
2. Place the cookie dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to roughly ¼ inch (6mm) thick. Place the cookie dough and parchment paper together on a sheet pan and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
3. In the final 30 minutes of chill time, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
4. Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes to soften slightly. Leaving the dough between the sheets of parchment, roll to a final thickness of ⅛ inch (3mm).
5. Use your desired cookie cutters to cut cookies and place roughly 1 inch (2.5cm) apart on a parchment paper–lined half sheet pan,
6. Push the scraps of the cookie dough together and re-roll one more time to a thickness of ⅛ inch (3mm).
7. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the edge just begins to turn golden and just set.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before moving to a baking rack to cool completely.
9. Once completely cool, decorate with Royal Icing.

[MrMaster]

Thanks for this now I am confident in my ability to get a 5 on the AP Flour Test

[natto]

Before anyone asks: refined coconut oil is odorless and flavorless. Virgin coconut oil has a strong coconut odor and flavor. When people say “coconut oil” in recipes, they usually mean refined coconut oil unless it’s clear that it’s a recipe that’s intended to taste like coconut. Refined coconut oil is not as problematic as other refined oils because coconut oil is a saturated fat and so does not readily oxidize like most refined plant oils.

[terrancenightingale]

I love this format of videos, because none of the options are "wrong", and if I want softer sugar cookies, now I know exactly how to get them

[w]

This man could’ve kept the recipe in the book for us to buy and yet he STILL gave it to us in the description
He is a good and caring person who clearly loves baking as an art and understand its purpose like any other food- to share. I will buy that book when I have money for it. I know I’ll get my money’s worth and I’ll support a creator I love.
Godspeed sir

[arielsanchez]

Ever since I started watching this channel I realized a lot of the mistakes I made in baking and pastry work. This guy breaks everything down with just enough details but also concise enough to keep you engaged. We need to have instructors like this in culinary schools

[zebras]

Ben is doing all the research and giving us the best results! It’s awesome that you explain what each ingredient does tho, so we can experiment and modify it ourselves!!

[LincDN]

When it comes to the choice of fat, you can melt butter in a sauté pan and then cook it over low to medium heat until it stops bubbling. This effectively reduces your butter so it has a lower water content. You can even go beyond a simple reduction and brown your butter, this leads to a much greater depth and complexity of flavor which potentially not ideal for a simple sugar cookie would be highly valuable in just about any other baking application.

[Tooweirdforaname]

You're such an amazing baker it blows my mind. I like to think I'm a good cook but I never seem to be as good at baking. I'll 100% be buying ur book when it comes out, ur such an inspiration. I can't wait to try every recipe, and hopefully become even a fraction as good as u are ❤

[zozobdair]

Good god you saved me a lot of time with your cooking tutorials, and I really appreciate that you always make them

[TDAEON]

I like my sugar cookies thin, crispy and lightly browned. That caramelized sugar flavor, esp with the sugar sprinkles on top, is what I look forward to when I do holidays cookies. 🤓😋

[ScarletShade]

I am incorporating that into this year's Christmas cookies! Thank you so much!

[All.i.need.]

Your channel is so underrated. Your content is great! Thank you.

[Yeeto_God]

i cant thank you enough... Not many bakers can tell me the "Why?" in baking... thank you <3

[singme]

I love ❤️ the ingredients that work. Thank you for giving us the recipe! These look so deliciously amazing. I want to make these.

[dagneytaggart]

Ooooo. Thank you. Now I know I want to use cake flour. I want soft cookies, not rock hard.

[whitehawk]

The background music sounds like an orchestral Stardew Valley daytime track. Lovely

[chrispycreme]

I've been swapping out Crisco shortening for butter and coconut oil for a while and I think the results have been great!

[wendynordstrom]

Oh boy! A Benjamin cookbook?!? Count me in!!

[astrosteve]

I use bread flour for cookies and it's great.

[anynimus]

I've been baking and cooking for 45 years and my Christmas cut out cookies always turn out perfectly. the trick is to briefly chill the cookies after cutting them out and before baking. Just place the tray with the cut outs in your refrigerator for 5-10 minutes or outside if it's winter and you can. My traditional German Butterkekse are made with a truly atrocious amount of butter, and without letting them rest and chill after cutting them out they'd lose shape.