Grandma Sadie's Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies are rolled out and cut into shapes and baked. Then frost or leave them plain, sprinkle with sugar. 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 cut-out sugar cookie EVER.
Did you know it is National Cookie Cutter Week? What a terrific excuse for making cookies. I loved my Grandma Sadie's Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies! (And so did everyone else.) My grandma, Sadie O'Connor Carter, died before I realized I should ask for this recipe. I tried sugar cookie, after sugar cookie recipe, trying to find one as delicious as my Grandma Sadie's cookie.
Then my cousin said to me "Do you remember Grandma Sadie's sugar cookie? I have the recipe!" Cousin Terry graciously sent it to me. I am very thankful to have this recipe. It is, hands down, the best cut-out Sugar Cookie recipe I have found.
Chill the Dough
It does take a bit of time, however, because you have to chill the dough for at least an hour, roll the dough and then cut it with cookie cutters. So I suggest you make the dough the night before you want to bake Grandma Sadie's Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies. 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.
Roll Out & Cut
Then you roll it out with a rolling pin to about ¼" or even ⅛" (for crispier cookies), 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, and cut it out with cookie cutters.
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.
Great With Gluten Free Flour
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 All Purpose 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.
Gluten Free Brown Sugar Sugar Cookie
What You Need
For this recipe you need measuring cups and spoons, a mixing bowl, an electric mixer, a rolling pin, cookie cutters, cookie sheets, and cooling racks. Do yourself a favor and buy the best tools you can afford.
Sadie's Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Cookie:
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup shortening (Crisco or 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
- 1 tablespoon margarine or 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
Nutrition
Elizabeth H. Cottrell
This is a delicious recipe, Lois. The only thing I changed was to add vanilla extract instead of almond flavoring in the frosting. Can't stand the flavor of almond, even though I love almonds in other recipes.
Lois
So glad you liked it, Elizabeth. Did you take a picture?
Victoria H Miller
Hi! My son needs to bake 100 of these for a Children's Business Fair - so he will need to make them over the course of a few days.. How long will the dough last (& keeps its quality) if refrigerated?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Lois
You can keep the dough about a week as long as it’s refrigerated. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.