When people eat my Grandma Sadie's Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies, they always exclaim, " These are SO good!" These refrigerated sugar cookies are made with all brown sugar and the flavor is spectacular. They are especially good as Christmas cookies, rolled out and cut into shapes, baked and frosted with almond frosting. But you can frost them after baking or leave them plain. They are good sprinkled with sugar before baking, too. Or press them into a round shape and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar instead of rolling and cutting them out. It's all good! Everyone raves about these brown sugar sugar cookies.
Grandma Sadie's Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies
Sadie's Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies are the best brown sugar roll-out cookies EVER
I loved my Grandma Sadie's Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies! (And so did everyone else.) My grandma, Sadie O'Connor Carter, was well know for her brown sugar sugar cookies. We simply called them Grandma's sugar cookies.
Over the years I tried sugar cookie, after sugar cookie recipe, trying to find one as delicious as my Grandma Sadie's cookie. I found a lot of good cookie recipes, but none measured up!
Then my cousin Terry graciously sent Grandma's recipe, a sugar cookie recipe made with brown sugar, to me. It is, hands down, the best cut-out sugar cookie recipe I have found.
Why This Recipe Works
This recipe works because brown sugar has a bit of molasses in it and it changes the flavor from boring to AMAZING. It's also the right combination of fat, sugar, eggs and flour to taste good and hold together nicely. Cream of tartar makes the cookies chewy. Chilling the dough before rolling it out helps the dough to roll out better and to not stick to the rolling pin.
What Goes Into This Recipe?
Besides using only brown sugar (that is, no white sugar), you will need shortening (Crisco or butter work), eggs, vanilla, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, flour and a little warm water. I prefer them frosted, and for that you need powdered sugar, vanilla, almond flavoring (optional), milk, and butter.
Substitutions/Variations
When I made them recently, I split the wet ingredients and made half the batch of cookies with wheat flour and half with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free baking flours (½ Oatmeal and ½ Baking Mix), and added a teaspoon of Xanthan Gum to the Gluten Free version. When I had Don taste test them, he couldn't tell the difference. The angel cookies are gluten free and the Christmas trees are regular flour.
For a full recipe using GF flour, substitute 2 cups of Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour plus 2 cups of gluten-free oat flour plus 1 teaspoon xanthan gum.
For nondairy or low lactose diets, substitute Crisco or vegan butter such as Earth Balance for the shortening in the cookies. Substitute a nondairy milk product for milk in the frosting.
How to Make This Recipe
Just a heads up: Making these Christmas cookies takes a bit of time because you have to chill the dough for at least an hour, roll the dough, and then cut it with cookie cutters.
To make the dough:
- Mix the brown sugar, shortening, eggs and vanilla until fully "creamed" or kind of fluffy and combined.
- Sprinkle the cream of tartar and salt over this mixture and give it a stir.
- In a separate dish, add the water to the baking soda. It will fizz. Stir it to make sure it's combined. Then pour it into the sugar mixture.
- Add the flour, one cup at a time, stirring to incorporate after each cup. The dough will be sticky and stiff.
- When all the flour is incorporated into the dough thoroughly, roll it into a ball. Cover the bowl with plastic and put the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour to chill it. See tip below about chilling overnight.
Roll out and cut:
- After an hour or more, take the dough out of the refrigerator. Pinch off a baseball size bit of dough to roll out.
- Place this dough in the center of a floured surface or between two pieces of wax paper. If you are making gluten-free cookies, be sure to use gluten free flour instead of regular flour to flour your surfaces and tools.
- Using a rolling pin that you have dusted with flour (not necessary to flour if you are using wax paper), roll the dough to about ¼ inch or even ⅛ inch (for crispier cookies). Rolling cookie dough is similar to the way you roll out pie crusts, from the middle to the outside so you can get a consistent depth for each cookie.
- Now cut the dough out with cookie cutters. If your cutters stick to the dough, flour the cookie cutters to prevent this.
- Carefully place each cookie about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. They puff up a bit, but they do not spread if you are using shortening.
- Bake at 325F degrees for about 10-11 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are starting to turn a little brown.
- Cool on a wire rack.
- Frost when cool.
Frosting:
While the cookies are baking, whip all the frosting ingredients until fully combined and somewhat fluffy. Set aside until the cookies are cool.
Tip: You can make the dough the night before you want to bake Grandma Sadie's Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies. If you chill it that long, when you take it out of the refrigerator, you will likely have to let it warm up a little bit or the dough won't roll out very well. You can warm it by flattening it on the counter (or as I do, on a piece of waxed paper) and massaging it a little bit to loosen it up.
Cookie cutters. This is the best type of cookie cutter in my humble opinion. These are open in the middle, which makes it easy to get the cookies out of them to bake, and the cookies will most likely hold together and not break.
Gluten Free Brown Sugar Sugar Cookie
Storing
When the cookies are cooled and frosted, lay them on parchment paper or the clean counter for at least an hour until the frosting is no longer sticky. Put wax paper between the layers and store them in an airtight container for up to a week. But really, you should hide them because they will be gone in no time!
FAQs
How long and why do I have to refrigerate the dough?
You need to refrigerate the dough for at least one hour. Refrigeration helps to stiffen the dough and makes it easier to roll out.
What size cookie cutters should I use?
You can use any size cookie cutter, but larger cookies may take longer to bake. I prefer cookie cutters that are about 3-4 inches long. I also prefer metal cookie cutters because the dough doesn't stick to them as much and the cookies are easier to remove to place on the cookie sheets.
I don't have cookie cutters. What can I use to cut the cookies out?
You can use a small glass (the open side) or a small clean can for cutting out cookies. Or, you can roll the cookies in little balls, place the balls about 2-3 inches apart and flatten them with the bottom of a glass.
I don't have a rolling pin. What can I use to roll the cookies out?
Some people use a clean glass bottle, like a wine bottle, for this purpose.
Sadie's Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies Recipe
Author: Recipe Idea Shop
Ingredients
Cookie:
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup shortening Crisco, Butter or Earth Balance Vegan Butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoon warm water
- 4 cups flour For Gluten Free: eliminate flour and substitute 2 cups Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gulten Free Baking Flour and 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oat Flour + 1 teaspoon Xanthin Gum
Frosting:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon almond flavoring optional
- 1 tablespoon milk or milk substitute
- 1 tablespoon margarine or butter or vegan butter
- a few drops of food coloring
Instructions
Cookie:
- Cream brown sugar and shortening.
- Add egg and vanilla.
- Mix in cream of tartar and salt.
- Add soda to warm water and then mix into dough.
- Mix in flour 1 cup at a time. Dough will be a bit sticky.
- Chill overnight or at least one hour.
- Roll out, cut and bake at 325F degrees for about 10-11 minutes or until the tops are turning a little brown.
- Cool on racks.
- While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting as follows and frost cookies when cool.
Frosting:
- Mix all the frosting ingredients with a spoon (or electric beater) until creamy smooth, but not liquid. Add a little milk or a little powdered sugar as needed to give it the right consistency.
- If you think the frosting is too sweet, add just a dash of salt and that will help reduce the sweetness.
- Frost cookies and top with sprinkles, nonpariels, cinnamon hearts, or other toppings.
- Store the frosted cookies in an airtight container with wax paper between layers.
- Grab and eat on the run or serve on a pretty plate for guests.
Notes
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Kathy acquired the blog, Recipe Idea Shop in 2024. She was raised on a farm in Arkansas where having a big garden and good food to eat was the norm. She shares recipes for homemade comfort food and new trending dishes.
Kathy began her blogging journey in 2011 when she founded PetticoatJunktion.com, a home décor blog focused on repurposing and upcycling furniture, and thrift store finds.