Who doesn't like homemade sugar cookies? Preparing them can be a bit complicated because the dough tends to expand during cooking and you run the risk of obtaining one large mass instead of many small biscuits. Avoiding using yeast can help you get the shape you want so that the cookies are beautiful as well as good. To keep them soft and light in texture, you can add an egg that will behave more or less like a leavening agent. If, on the other hand, you prefer the biscuits to be dense and compact, you can also omit the eggs. Once you have chosen the recipe for the dough, preparing, cutting and baking the shortbread will be easy even for novice chefs.
Ingrediants
Yeast-free Sugar Cookies with Eggs
- 350 g 00 flour, sifted
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- 230 g of butter, left to soften at room temperature
- 200 g of granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
Makes 2-3 dozen cookies
Sugar Cookies without Yeast and without Eggs
- 220 g plain flour, sifted
- 200 g of granulated sugar
- 230 g of butter, left to soften at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Makes 2 dozen cookies
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Make Yeast-free Sugar Cookies with Eggs
Step 1. Combine the flour with the salt
Sift the flour and then add a quarter of a teaspoon of salt to a medium-sized bowl. Stir with a whisk to distribute the salt well, then set the bowl aside.
Step 2. Beat the butter with the sugar
Pour 230g of butter that you softened at room temperature into a bowl or food processor container and then add 200g of white granulated sugar. Whip the two ingredients with the electric whisk or with the robot. If you want to make sure the cookies keep their shape intact after baking them, whip the butter with the sugar for about a minute on medium speed. If, on the other hand, you want them more than anything else they have a very soft and light consistency and you don't mind that the shape changes, continue to whisk the butter for 3-4 minutes.
Some pastry chefs recommend that you first whip the butter by itself for a few seconds and only add the sugar afterwards
Step 3. Incorporate the egg and vanilla extract
Add one egg and one and a half teaspoons of vanilla extract to the mixture. Turn the food processor or whisk back on to mix the ingredients.
Step 4. Incorporate the dry ingredients
Reduce the whisk speed and slowly pour the flour into the dough. Continue to work it with a whisk or food processor until the flour is completely blended with the other ingredients. At that point, immediately stop working it otherwise the cookies could be hard.
Step 5. Shape the dough into a ball and then roll it out
Shape it into a ball by working it with clean hands, then flatten it using your palm to shape it into a disc.
Step 6. Cover the dough and put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours
Wrap it with cling film and let it cool for an hour or two to make it harder and more compact.
- If you don't want to bake the cookies right away, you can store the dough in the refrigerator or freezer. In the first case it will last up to three days, while if you put it in the freezer you can keep it up to a month. If you have decided to freeze it, remember to move it to the refrigerator 12-24 hours before you intend to bake the cookies.
- When the dough is ready, roll it out and cut it to make the cookies. Once cut, let them rest at room temperature for 5 minutes so that they soften slightly.
Part 2 of 4: Make Yeast-Free and Egg-Free Sugar Cookies
Step 1. Whip the butter
After letting it soften at room temperature, pour it into the food processor container. Set the robot to medium-low speed and whip the butter for 10-20 seconds to make it creamy.
You can also use the manual electric whisk
Step 2. Incorporate the sugar and vanilla
Add 200 g of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the butter after making it creamy. Use the whisk or food processor again on medium-low speed until the ingredients are well blended.
Step 3. Gradually incorporate the flour
Reduce the speed of the robot to low and slowly pour the flour into the container after sifting it. Continue to knead the dough until it is compact and uniform.
This type of dough does not need to be cooled before it is rolled out, cut and baked. However, if you don't intend to bake the cookies right away, you need to keep them in the refrigerator. Take it out five minutes early when you are ready to spread it out to soften it slightly
Part 3 of 4: Shaping the Cookies
Step 1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
To prevent the cookies from sticking to the pan, it is essential to line it with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat to make it non-stick. Set the pan aside for now.
If you prefer, you can grease the pan with extra virgin olive oil. For convenience you can use that spray
Step 2. Flour your work surface
Since the cookie dough will be quite sticky it is important to sprinkle some flour on the work surface, for example on the table or on a large wooden cutting board, to prevent it from sticking while rolling it out with a rolling pin.
Step 3. Roll out the dough
Transfer it to the floured work surface and flatten it with a rolling pin, trying to give it as uniform a thickness as possible. Depending on your taste, the cookies can be around 6-12mm high.
- If you don't have a rolling pin, you can use a heavy, cylindrical object, such as a bottle of wine.
- If the dough sticks to the rolling pin, you can flour it just as you did with the work surface or you can put a sheet of parchment paper between the dough and the rolling pin.
Step 4. Cut the dough to create the cookies
After rolling it out, take the cookie cutter and cut it into the desired shape. Collect the scraps of dough by hand and then knead and roll them out again to get more cookies.
- If the dough sticks to the molds, dust them with flour.
- If the dough seems to be softening too much, put it back in the refrigerator for 5 minutes.
Step 5. Place the cookies on the lined baking tray
Place them on the paper or on the silicone mat by spacing them from each other by at least a couple of centimeters. If you want, you can sprinkle them with colored sprinkles or sugar after arranging them neatly on the pan.
Step 6. Place the cookies in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before baking
When the pan is full, place it in the refrigerator. Let the cookies cool for a quarter of an hour or until they have hardened to prevent them from spreading too much as they bake.
If you're short on time, you can put them in the freezer for 5 minutes instead of in the fridge
Part 4 of 4: Bake the Cookies
Step 1. Preheat the oven
While the cookies harden in the refrigerator, turn on the oven to 180 ° C. Wait for it to reach the required temperature before putting it in the oven.
Step 2. Bake the cookies until golden on the edges
When the dough has hardened, take the pan out of the refrigerator and place it in the hot oven. Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes or until golden on the edges.
The cooking time varies according to the thickness of the dough and the size of the biscuits. If they are large and thick, it can take up to 15 minutes
Step 3. Let the cookies cool in the pan
When cooked, remove the pan from the oven, but don't touch the cookies until they have cooled at least a little. Let them sit on the paper or silicone mat for about 10 minutes. Removing them from the pan while they are hot is likely to break.
Step 4. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack
When they are no longer hot, lift them with a flat spatula and place them on a grill to cool sweets. Let them sit another 10-15 minutes or until they are completely cold.
- If you haven't added any decorations to the cookies, you can consider frosting them once they have cooled.
- Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container. They will keep good for several days (up to a week).
- Alternatively, you can put them in a freezer-safe container and freeze them to last up to two months.
