Some weeks when your baby is teething and you should be packing for a big move or finishing 800 deadlines since you’ll be without your computer for awhile and you’re feeling a little blue because of the aforementioned, you need big fat sugar cookies (and a good run-on sentence). These are the kind that’ll make you happy, leave you regretful, and eventually convince you to come back for another. You know the kind. And sometimes those kind are just as necessary as the healthy nourishing kind. 

Last week while flipping through Instagram, I saw many a mention of Swig Sugar cookies at ALT. Then I remembered seeing a copycat recipe over at Vintage Revivals a couple weeks back. In an effort to fix my blues, I made them with a few modifications and a baby grumping at my feet.

They pretty much surpassed every expectation and numbed the teething, packing, moving, deadline woes for a brief second.

I’ve never had a true Swig cookie but if they had a cousin it would be the Lofthouse cookie (only way better). Though, I’ll let my sister, the Lofthouse cookie connoisseur, be the judge of that when she arrives later this week. I saved some in the freezer for her (more on that below).

My words are few but my pictures are many this week because I really need to focus on all those aforementioned things. These cookies do a fine job speaking for themselves.

Side note: things may be quiet on this front for the next couple weeks while we squeeze in one last east coast vacation with my family and make the migration back to the midwest. Wish us luck and eat lots of cookies. Or freeze them for later, because gosh, they’re rich.

Big Fat Sugar Cookies

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• Yield: 13 2 oz. (large) cookies 1x

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Description

This recipe is adapted from Vintage Revivals and That’s Some Good Cookin’ If you’re looking for a dense, out of this world, bakery-esque sugar cookie, here’s your girl. These cookies are large and in charge but you can easily make them smaller if you wish. They come together dangerously fast and can last dangerously long (in the freezer).

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Ingredients

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• Cookie
• 2 1/4 c. + 1 tbsp. all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt, heaping
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 c. + 2 tbsp. pure cane sugar (plus more for flattening)
• 1/4 c. + 2 tbsp. powdered sugar
• 1/4 c. + 2 tbsp. vegetable oil*
• 1 large egg
• Frosting
• 2 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. heavy cream
• splash of vanilla extract
• pinch of kosher salt

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Set out butter and cream cheese to come to room temperature.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until well combined. Add in oil and egg and continue mixing until pale in color and evenly combined, about 1 minute.
4. Add flour into the wet ingredients and incorporate on low speed until just combined, pulsing to initially incorporate. Dough will be dense and fairly dry. You should probably taste it just to make sure it’s good. Ok, now stop. This recipe makes exactly a bakers dozen.
5. Using a #16 (2 oz) ice cream scoop, scoop out 6 dough balls on to the prepped baking sheet leaving at a time, at least 2″ apart. Into a flat-bottomed bowl add about 2 tablespoons of sugar. Using the base of a glass cup (with the tiniest shmear of water to get the sugar to initially stick), dunk in sugar, and press out dough until it just passes the edge of the cup. Repeat.
6. Bake for 8 minutes. Allow to cool on pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to continue cooling.
7. While cookies cool completely, make frosting. Cream together cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and kosher salt. Continue beating until frosting turns white. Frosting too thin? Add more powdered sugar. Frosting too thick? Add more cream. The humidity can totally effect the consistency.
8. Spread on cookies. Start by adding a large dollop to the middle of the cookie and slowly spreading toward the edge, working the frosting back and forth. Sprinkle. Store uncovered for up to two days. Or freeze them for long lasting consumption. After 12 hours, place on baking sheet and flash freeze in freezer for about 30 minutes. Remove and individually (and carefully) wrap in plastic wrap. Store in an airtight freezer bag in freezer for up to a month. Allow to come to room temp for about 20 minutes before eating.

Notes

* I’m always looking for the healthiest baking oils, which seem to change by the day. I used Grapeseed Oil, which has a high smoke point and neutral flavor, for this recipe.

• Annoyed with all the extra tablespoons here and there? I halved the original cookie recipe since it made so many cookies. I also deleted out the water and added more flour since they came together wet. Maybe it’s due to the humid state I live in. When halving or double recipes, remember these measurements.

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Like these big fat sugar cookies, try the chocolate version.