Chewy Sugar Cookies

When I first moved to NYC I was an Americorp volunteer, which meant I had NO money.  But just the same, every couple of months my twin sister Rachel would come up from D.C. and my older sister Kate would come down from Boston and we would see the NYC sites.  On many of our explorations we would find ourselves getting a treat at one of the few places we could afford… Subway.  We always bought 3 Subway cookies for a dollar and one of these cookies would be the Subway sugar cookie.  I am usually a chocolate lover but there is something addictive about the Subway sugar cookie. I know it sounds weird praising a chain restaurant so highly, but these cookies really are yummy.

I have never made anything close to the chewiness caliber of the Subway sugar cookie…. that is until today.  I can officially say that this recipe makes the BEST sugar cookies I have ever eaten (and unlike Subway there is no trans-fat!).  For Christmas I got the Best of America’s Test Kitchen cookbook.  Inside they had this sugar cookie recipe.  I guess the first challenge for every prospective cook at Cook’s Illustrated is to bake a batch of chewy sugar cookies, but this rule has since changed because after this recipe they had found the definitive sugar cookie.

For real… these cookies are so good.  Adam was bummed when he heard I was making sugar cookies because he doesn’t like them, but after eating one he has since been converted.  I think it may be the cream cheese that gives these cookies the perfect chewiness with a buttery/vanilla-y taste.  Plus this weekend I learned how to use a piping bag and these cookies can be iced beautifully!  (Blog to come on how to ice a cookie using a piping bag!)

Chewy Sugar Cookies

(3 dozen cookies)

2 ¼ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 ½ cups sugar

2 oz. cream cheese (cut into pieces)

6 tbsp butter melted

½ cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

1 tbsp milk

2 tsp vanilla

Set oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.  In a separate larger bowl place 1 ½ cups sugar and cut up cream cheese.  Pour melted butter over the sugar and cream cheese mixture and whisk to combine.  Whisk in oil until incorporated.  Add egg, milk, and vanilla; continue to whisk until smooth.  Add the flour mixture and fold together with a rubber spatula.  Form dough into balls, about 2 tbsp each.  Roll balls in sugar and place onto a lined cookie sheet.  Using the bottom of a glass, flatten the dough balls into a circle about 2 inches in diameter.  Bake one tray at a time until the edges of the cookies are just beginning to turn brown, 11-13 minutes.  Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before letting cool completely on a cooling rack.  Ice if you wish, but these are good either way!