1 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
5 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract

Mix everything together in a bowl. Dough will [...]]]> These delightful creatures taste like one of my favorite Provo bakery’s cookies. I won’t say which bakery.

1 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
5 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract

Mix everything together in a bowl. Dough will be surprisingly dry. Spread evenly in cookie sheet pan (11×13). Bake in 350 degree oven for 12-14 minutes. Cool for at least 1 hour. Frost with frosting listed below. Cut in small squares and serve.

Frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
5 cups powdered sugar
3 oz cream cheese
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-4 Tablespoons heavy cream or evaporated milk, to achieve desired consistency
Pink food coloring if you are feeling creative, or leave white and sprinkle with multi-colored jimmies. So cute.
 

Originally published February, 2008

Valentine’s Day is a very big deal at our house. [...]]]> Valentine’s Day sugar cookies. Need I write more? I’m re-posting this today so you can be prepared next week. I’ve tried too many sugar cookie recipes to count. This is the best. Don’t mess around and take my word for it.

Originally published February, 2008

Valentine’s Day is a very big deal at our house. We send cards and pass out treats. For several years, I religiously made an extra large batch of heart-shaped, frosting-covered sugar cookies. We delivered them to neighbors, friends, and colleagues. Sadly, I do not have the time for this anymore. For the second year in a row, I have opted for an easier treat (last year we made Ina Garten’s Homemade Marshmallows and this year we made Regan Daley’s Chocolate Fudge Cookies). “How could those be easier than sugar cookies?” you may ask. Trust me, they are. But, that is not the point I want to make. I want to make this point: This is the best sugar cookie recipe I have ever used. I adore it. My sisters adore it. In fact, one sister loves it so much that when I told her I was posting my sugar cookie recipe, she asked “Are you really going to give that recipe away? Isn’t that a secret?”. Well, yes and no. I love giving recipes to others. And no, I do not believe in secret recipes. So, happy Valentine’s Day to you. May your day be as sweet as the frosting on your perfect sugar cookie.

The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe

1 cup shortening (butter flavor is best)
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream (whole milk vanilla yogurt works just as well)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbs. almond extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
4 tsp. baking powder
4 1/2 cups flour

Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs, sour cream and extracts. Add dry ingredients (may need a little more flour). Mix dough until soft. Chill several hours (even up to two days). Roll, cut, and bake at 350° for 10 minutes. (The longer you allow the dough to chill, the easier it is to roll and cut.)

Well, I have invited myself into an actual family. Yes, a family. The Tueller sisters. If you don’t know a Tueller, you [...]]]> I’ve been told that one of my greatest talents in life is my ability to invite myself to anything. It’s true. I have a knack. Cringe worthy, yes. Useful? Depends on the circumstance.

Well, I have invited myself into an actual family. Yes, a family. The Tueller sisters. If you don’t know a Tueller, you haven’t lived. They are a beautiful, happy, funny, insanely smart, inspiring family.

The Tueller Family just two years before I was born. Man. If they had just waited for me.

But enough about them. Let’s talk about their recipe. One day Betsy T. showed up at a baptism with a plate of these beauties. I grabbed her shoulder and didn’t let go until she scribbled the recipe for me. Today I make these chewies often.

Do you remember those captions in The National Geographic where they did a close-up of something and you had to guess the object? Well, guess this close up.

They are my go-to when I don’t have time to make full-on chocolate chip cookies. How could these be any less time consuming you may ask? I don’t know. They just are. Perhaps it’s the bar cookie part of the recipe, they just seem to easy and fast. Love these babies. But not as much as I love the Tueller women.

Tueller Chocolate Chip Chewies

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3 eggs
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs, salt and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips. Sample dough. Spread the rest on 9×13 cookie sheet (jelly roll pan). Bake 15-20 minutes or until light brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

Score and serve. And don't make fun of my uneven scoring.Double up on the chewies if you have a big crowd. Same amount of work, twice as many chewies.