Soft And Buttery Sugar Cookies

Total Time: 4 hrs 39 mins Preparation Time: 4 hrs 30 mins Cook Time: 9 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup vegetable oil (canola or safflower works best, but any mild-flavored variety will do)
• 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup more for dipping
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract (high quality is best, avoid imitation vanilla)
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350 degrees f (325 for convection ovens).
• 2 beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy (1-2 minutes). add the oil, eggs, and vanilla and beat for another minute.
• 3 in a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
• 4 slowly mix in flour mixture in two parts, on low until dough is just combined.
• 5 form dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight (this will make for a much flakier, tender texture, and gives time for the flavors to meld and mature. it will also make the dough much easier to handle).
• 6 cut off sections of dough and roll into 1 inch balls. place on ungreased cookie sheet spaced apart 2-3 inches.
• 7 coat the base of a flat-bottomed glass in a thin smear of butter and dip in granulated sugar. gently press the glass onto each dough ball until approximately 1/4 " thick (can be pressed thinner, which produces a slightly crisper, more delicate cookie).
• 8 bake on rack in bottom third of oven and bake for 9-11 minutes. light cookie sheets work best, but if using a dark cookie sheet, adjust oven temp to 325 and begin checking for doneness after 8 minutes or so. cookies are done when they are *just* starting to darken slightly around the edges. (try not to overcook--this may produce a "burnt butter" taste. err on the side of underdone.).
• 9 move promptly to cooling rack for 10 minutes before eating or storing. enjoy!