Jumbo Sugar Cookies

Jumbo Sugar Cookies - made dough July 22, 2017, adapted from Center Cut Cook

I don’t know what compelled me to make these cookies other than it was hot outside, I didn’t want to turn my oven on at that moment and it’s just easy to make cookie dough and freeze it for later when it is cool enough to turn my oven on. So that’s what I did.

Since these are supposed to be jumbo cookies, I used the 1/3 cup measuring cup that was suggested in the recipe and ended up with 5 big chunks of cookie dough from the whole batch. I also read the comments on the original blog and there seemed to be some negative reviews of this recipe, notably how they tasted “tinny” or metallic. That usually comes from having too much chemical leavening so I cut back on both the amount of baking soda and cornstarch. Cornstarch doesn’t really leaven a cookie but instead adds to the softness of its texture. Still, 2 tablespoons seemed like a lot for such a modest amount of dough so I cut it down to 1 tablespoon. I also took the precaution of adding vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste to make sure the cookies had some kind of flavoring.

For the most part, the modification seemed to work. The cookie did spread to a size bigger than my palm and almost overflowed the saucer I used. Yep, it’s jumbo all right. The edges were light and airy, the (thin) middle was chewy. Surprisingly for a sugar cookie, it didn’t seem that sweet. I did sprinkle first turbinado sugar then regular granulated sugar on top before and after baking to give it a little more sweetness. It also did have a little of that tinny taste so I can see where the reviews came from if other people used the full amount of baking soda.

Still, the cookie was okay. Next time I probably wouldn’t make them so big though. “Jumbo” sounds good in theory but in reality, it’s a little too big for a taste test cookie and it’s a lot of one kind of cookie for someone to eat if you want to put more than one in a goodie bag. Also, I'd recommend rolling the whole dough ball in granulated sugar before baking to add a little more flavor and sweetness, not to mention to counter the tinny taste.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
Coarse sugar for sprinkling

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add egg, vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste; mix until just combined.
2. Add flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt. Mix until just combined.
3. Portion dough using 1/3 cup measuring cup and form into thick discs. Cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Space three discs per sheet, leaving room for the cookies to spread. Sprinkle each disc with coarse sugar. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until edges are lightly golden brown and middles are no longer raw. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets before removing to wire rack to cool completely.