Amish Sugar Cookie Recipe AKA The Best Drop Sugar Cookies EVER (2024)

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These Amish Sugar Cookies are by far the BEST sugar cookies I’ve ever eaten! Soft and pillowy perfect cookies.

Amish Sugar Cookie Recipe AKA The Best Drop Sugar Cookies EVER (1)

Welcome to day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies here on Something Swanky! ????

Amish Sugar Cookie Recipe AKA The Best Drop Sugar Cookies EVER (2)

No, you’re not crazy. Yes, you did the math right. No, I’m not going to have time this year to fit in all 12 days of cookies. I’m pretty bummed about it actually. But this year is all about surviving the craziness of moving + the holidays at the same time, and you know what? If we manage to squeeze in 3 or 4 days of Christmas cookies, I think I’m going to be okay. I just loved doing this last year so much, I had to at least get in a little mini version this year!

But you just wait for Christmas 2017, I’ll be pulling out all the stops. Guaranteed.

Ok, let’s get to the star of the show today: these Amish Sugar Cookies. Since we’re not getting in the full 12 days of cookies this year, I’m only sharing the best of the best. And, trust me, these cookies are the cream of the crop.

In fact, I can get a little overexcited about these cookies. I feel like I should warn you up front in all fairness. But just stick with me to the end, and you’ll see why I can’t stop gushing about this seriously amazing recipe!

Amish Sugar Cookie Recipe AKA The Best Drop Sugar Cookies EVER (3)

A little backstory before the gushing starts:

I’ve spent this year trying to come up with fun “family history” activities for my family. I know that might sound a little strange, butwe have had a really great experience with our kids learning about our family’s ancestors and the countries they originated from. My favorite activities, of course, have been the ones that involved food. One time we did a dinner with lots of different foods from many of the countries where our ancestors lived (brats from Germany, macarons from France, empanadas from Mexico, etc).

In preparation for one of these activities, I discovered that my husband has an ancestral connection to the Pennsylvania Dutch/Amish! Of course, I immediately dove into the world of Amish recipes. Expect many more to come, but for today I am sharing my absolute favorite so far: Amish Sugar Cookies.

Amish Sugar Cookie Recipe AKA The Best Drop Sugar Cookies EVER (4)

These cookies are UNREAL. They are so, unbelievably good that I just don’t even have the words to do them justice. Considering there’s not a morsel of chocolate in sight, that is high praise indeed coming from me!

I’m a texture gal, and I typically like a lot ofstuff in my cookies. You know. M&MS and chocolate chips and butterscotch and oatmeal and nuts. That’s normally my cookie happy place. But not this time!

These cookies are remarkably plain. But they’re also remarkably soft. Pillow-likesoft. And deliciously buttery. With delicately crispy edges and a crackly sugar coating, you will absolutely not be able to stop at just one.

Amish Sugar Cookie Recipe AKA The Best Drop Sugar Cookies EVER (5)

I’m also obsessed with how versatile these cookies are! For a festive holiday cookie plate, you could roll them in colored sugar sprinkles instead of plain granulated sugar. You could stick a Hershey Kiss on top (yum, the Candy Candy Hershey Kisses would be amazing) for a holiday blossom cookie.

You could even mix in some M&MS or chocolate chips if you wanted.

But these cookies don’t need it. You’ll fall in love with them just the way they are, I promise. If you only make one of my cookie recipes this year, make sure it’s this one. You won’t regret it!

Amish Sugar Cookie Recipe AKA The Best Drop Sugar Cookies EVER (6)
Amish Sugar Cookie Recipe AKA The Best Drop Sugar Cookies EVER (7)

Amish Sugar Cookies

Yield: 2-3 dozen

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

These Amish Sugar Cookies are by far the BEST sugar cookies I've ever eaten! Soft and pillowy perfect cookies.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 1 cup oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar
  • granulated sugar for rolling

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Using an electric mixer, beattogether the butter, oil, and sugars until light and fluffy.

Mix in the eggs and vanilla.

Mix inthe flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.

Scoop dough by 2 tbsp and roll into a ball in the granulated sugar until coated. Place cookie dough balls on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes (err on the side of underdone to keep these soft, they should not be brown on top at all). Remove to a wire rack immediately to cool.

Notes

Tip: the vanilla really stands out in this recipe, so use a high quality one! I love this vanilla crush.

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Amish Sugar Cookie Recipe AKA The Best Drop Sugar Cookies EVER (2024)

FAQs

What is a Nazareth sugar cookie? ›

The sugar cookie is believed to have originated in the mid-1700s in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. German Protestant settlers created a round, crumbly and buttery cookie that came to be known as the Nazareth cookie. Jumbles are the earliest form of sugar cookies.

What is the best thickness to roll sugar cookies? ›

With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.

What is a Navy Seal sugar cookie? ›

McRaven describes the experience of Navy SEAL trainees who are subject — often randomly — to a punishment where they are directed to get wet and sandy on the beaches. By the time they are finished the trainees, covered in sand, look like “sugar cookies.”

Why are they called cowboy cookies? ›

Some claim cowboy cookies hail from Texas, a state many cowboys call home. Others say the treats were named for their ability to withstand long days in saddlebag.

What is Alabama State cookie? ›

A yellowhammer cookie is a type of stuffed drop cookie containing peanuts, pecans, oats, honey and peanut butter. Invented for a school baking competition, it became the official state cookie of Alabama later that year. The recipe includes locally relevant ingredients and is named after Alabama's state bird.

What is a Dillon cookie? ›

Dillon Cookies

This flagship cookie combines freshly milled whole wheat with oats, loads of chocolate chips and just the right amount of walnuts for a buttery finish. They are the perfect treat for kids and adults alike!

What texture should the butter be in most drop cookies? ›

Melted butter is best suited for drop doughs such as chocolate chip, peanut butter, and sugar cookies, as well as most cookie bars. You can usually adapt recipes that don't originally call for melted butter to use this technique if you're looking for an even fudgier texture.

How long do you chill sugar cookie dough? ›

3. Now chill the dough. The dough is still too soft to stamp out, so place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or the freezer for 15.

Should sugar cookies be crunchy or soft? ›

They can be either, depending on your recipe, method of preparation, and ingredients. Some are meant to be soft and cake like, others crispy or chewy. Ingredients such as brown sugar will add chewiness, while white sugar promotes crispness. An egg will give it cake-like softness.

How do you make store bought sugar cookie dough not spread? ›

Hack #1: Chill your cookie dough before baking to make it easier to work with and to control spread. How does it work? Cookies can spread when baked and lose their shape. To fix this, let your cookie dough rest in the refrigerator for an hour before you roll it out and cut out shapes.

What helps sugar cookies keep their shape? ›

Sandwich your dough between two sheets of parchment, roll, then freeze; it makes cut-out cookies a breeze! If you plan to store it for only a few hours or days, there's no need to overwrap the baking sheet; for longer storage, wrap the entire baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap before freezing.

Why are they called Jesus cookies? ›

She found a delicious recipe for gluten-free “Jesus cookies.” My daughters call those really puffy, soft sugar cookies with lots of icing and sprinkles you find in the grocery store “Jesus cookies” because they seemed to get them during Sunday School A LOT.

What is a sugar cookie slang? ›

Where one is to roll in the sand or dirt while PT-ing, then continue PT-ing to look like a sugar cookie themselves. There's also a sand hill named after this term in 29 Palms, for this same reason.

What state is known for Moravian sugar cookies? ›

The cookie is especially popular around, and usually associated with, Christmas in communities with a strong Moravian background such as Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which still maintain the two largest Moravian communities in the United States.

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