Yesterday I grappled with a recipe for sugar cookies, surprised by the difficult dough I managed to concoct. My intention was to make a quick and easy batch of simple cookies, with the hopes of adding more of my surplus peanut butter chips into the mix – but this was not to be. I used the following recipe for the sugar cookie base:

 

¾ C powdered sugar (slashed down from the suggested 1½ cups)

1 C butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. almond extract

1 egg

2½ C flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cream of tartar

 

In a large bowl, I mixed together the powdered sugar, butter (melted slightly in the microwave), vanilla, almond extract and egg. Then I stirred in the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. (The original recipe called for granulated sugar as well, but I decided not to add the extra sweetener). I then transferred the dough to the bowl I used to melt the butter in, and refrigerated it for about five hours (according to the recipe, the dough should be chilled for at least three hours). Early into the evening, I removed the dough from the refrigerator and found myself facing a blob of concrete. I tried prying the dough out of the bowl, but it would not be budged. My husband even took a large spoon and attempted to scrape the sides to get it out with no result, and as a last resort I pounded the bowl upside down on the counter. Nothing!

 

I was determined not to throw the dough away in frustration (not after investing two cubes of butter into the recipe!), so I left the bowl on the kitchen counter for about two hours. Finally, I was able to get the dough out of the bowl and start working with it. It wasn’t that the dough was dry (although it certainly wasn’t moist), but it was heavy and unyielding. At this point I decided to forego using any of the peanut butter chips – how in the hell could I mix them in anyway? It would be like trying to run a table knife through a paving stone. Instead, I took portions of the dough and kneaded it around in my hands a bit, then slowly used the rolling pin to flatten it out to about 3/16”. This seemed to elasticize the dough and make it more manageable. Since I don’t have one cookie cutter in my house, I used the rim of a glass to cut out the cookie shapes. With the oven at 375° F, each batch took approximately seven minutes to bake. I ended up with two dozen hard-won and well deserved cookies; very rich-tasting and dreamy with a cup of coffee – almost worth the effort I put into them.