Granny’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookie Recipe – A Well Tested Recipe
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Granny’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies are perfectly soft, melt-in-your-mouth good and super easy to make. Dress these cookies up for any occasion by using colored sugar crystals. These drop cookies look so pretty on a plate and go great with a cup of coffee or hot tea.
Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies
When you think of sugar cookies, you may picture the cut-out variety which are elaborately decorated. However, this recipe is much less time-consuming and tastes just as great.
This recipe came from Granny H, our mom’s mother, who is also responsible for this Double Fudge Fanciful Chocolate Cake.
These could also be considered an Amish sugar cookie with one exception, Granny’s are made with margarine instead of butter. This makes our version a bit softer and chewier but if you’d prefer to use butter, go for it. The cookies will likely be a bit crispier than those made with margarine.
Secret Ingredient
There’s one particular ingredient that makes these old fashioned sugar cookies extra special. When you bite into them, you’ll notice the amazing soft texture.
If you’ve ever had Snickerdoodle cookies, you’ll recognize this “bite” because Snickerdoodles use the same secret ingredient.
Cream of Tartar
Yes, cream of tartar is the ingredient that makes these extra special because it not only keeps the cookies soft instead of crunchy but also it keeps the sugar cookies from browning, giving them the pristine white color.
Ingredient List
- Margarine, softened
- Granulated Sugar
- Vegetable Oil
- Vanilla Extract
- Confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
- All Purpose Flour
- Cream of Tartar
- Baking Soda
- Salt
How to Make Drop Sugar Cookies
Step by Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat (highly recommended step for easy cleanup).
- In a large bowl, cream the margarine, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and powdered (confectioner’s) sugar together. A stand mixer or electric mixer work best.
- In separate bowl, sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
- Blend dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
- Drop sugar cookie dough by the teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet. (We use parchment paper on top of the baking sheet.)
- Flatten each cookie slightly with bottom of drinking glass dipped in sugar (use any color you’d like).
- Bake until slightly brown around edges, approximately 9-11 minutes.
- Let cool on baking sheet for one minute before moving to wire rack.
- If desired, instead of colored sugar, top with a frosting and sprinkles once cooled.
Storage Instructions
Let cookies cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Freeze in an airtight freezer-proof container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
For the full ingredient amounts and recipe steps for drop sugar cookies, scroll to the bottom of this post.
Recipe FAQs
- The dough for these Amish sugar cookies might be a bit soft once mixed. If it’s a bit sticky, you can add another 1/2 to 3/4 cup of flour. If you have a looser cookie dough, the cookies will spread during baking.
- The original recipe calls for both sugar and powdered sugar. Sugar is granulated (basic sugar) while powdered sugar is also known as confectioner’s sugar – the fine white sugar that is used in icing, etc.
- You can use a fancy cookie scoop to get these onto a pan or simply use a spoon and butter knife.
- These cookies can stick to the pan so you might want to use parchment paper or one of those silicon baking mats. If you do just use a cookie sheet, be sure to let them rest for just a minute out of the oven before you take them off the pan.
- For a list of some of our pantry staples and kitchen essentials, check out our Amazon Store here.
What does cream of tartar do in sugar cookies?
If you want beautiful white sugar cookies, then do not skip the cream of tartar. Yes that’s right. Cream of tartar prevents browning which keeps the sugar cookies white instead of brown. It also keeps the cookies nice and soft which is the ideal texture for sugar cookies.
MORE CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPES
- Grandma’s Three Layer Chocolate Squares
- Dainty Log Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips
- Crock Pot 7 Layer Bars
- Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Salted Nut Squares
- French Buttercream Cookies
- Stamped Cookies – Almond Shortbread Recipe
Our friend Jent over at Farmwife Feeds shared some of her favorite cookie recipes for Santa here.
Granny’s Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup margarine
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Sugar – regular or colored sugar crystals
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line you baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat for easy cleanup.
- Cream together margarine, sugar, oil, eggs, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
- Add sifted, dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix well.
- Drop by teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet.
- Flatten each cookie with a glass dipped in sugar.
- Bake until slightly browned, about 9 to 11 minutes depending on your oven.
- Let cool on baking sheet for 1 minute before transferring to cooling rack.
Notes
- This recipe makes about 6 dozen cookies.
- The dough for these Amish sugar cookies might be a bit soft once mixed. If it’s a bit sticky, you can add another 1/2 to 3/4 cup of flour.
- The original recipe calls for both sugar and powdered sugar. Sugar is granulated (basic sugar) while powdered sugar is also known as confectioner’s sugar – the fine white sugar that is used in icing, etc.
- You can use a fancy cookie scoop to get these onto a pan or simply use a spoon and butter knife.
- These cookies can stick to the pan so you might want to use parchment paper or one of those silicon baking mats. If you do just use a cookie sheet, be sure to let them rest for just a minute out of the oven before you take them off the pan.
- The nutritional information below is auto-calculated and can vary depending on the products used.
Nutrition
Interesting! My grandmother had an identical recipe (titled “White cookies” in her notebook) which differs only in calling for the dough to be chilled before forming. It’s fun to wonder how far back we’d need to go in order to see the common origin for this recipe.
Incidentally grandma neglected to include the baking instructions- which you have provided, so thank you!
Grandmas were great at vague recipe descriptions!
These are delicious! Could these be made as a bar cookie? If so, what size pan and for how long? Thank you.
We haven’t tried them as a bar cookie…but we may now!
I hope that you do and post it since I am new to baking!
I tried this recipe for the first time today, and I will definitely be making them again and again. They were so easy to make, and tasted fantastic.
Granny knew how to make a cookie!