Best-ever sugar cookies

You probably have all the ingredients for these delicious sugar cookies in your pantry already, which makes them incredibly easy to pull together. They can be eaten plain or they can be decorated in any number of ways. You can hand form the dough or you can roll it out and cut it into shapes with cookie cutters. You can even roll it into a log, chill it, and cut slices to lay on the cookie sheet and bake. The versatility of the sugar cookie is one of the reasons its a favorite.

The key to our best-ever sugar cookies is the secret ingredient: nutmeg. Ground nutmeg will certainly do, but whole nutmeg keeps longer, tastes richer and can be freshly ground with a grinder (we like to keep a separate grinder just for spices), zester or grater. The nutmeg adds a sweetly spiced flavor to what would otherwise be a basic cookie. If you pass these out for the holidays, you will certainly have people asking for your secret.

Best-Ever Sugar Cookies

Yield: Yields 48
Author: Hamilton Beach Test Kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and set aside. Using flat paddle, cream butter on high speed until light and fluffy.
3. Reduce speed to lowest setting. Add sugar, egg, and vanilla, mixing thoroughly. Gradually add dry ingredients and milk; continue mixing until thoroughly mixed.
4. Form cookie dough into 1 1/2-inch (2.5 cm) diameter balls and arrange balls on ungreased baking sheets.
5. Flatten balls slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass.
6. Bake in oven for 6 to 7 minutes or until lightly golden around edges. Cool on wire racks.

Notes

To make these delicious cookies, we recommend using a Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer with paddle attachment.