The Perfect Sugar Cookie

Impromptu parties are my favorite kind of party. And when they are held at a friend's home with a beautiful pool and most comfortable outdoor furniture, I am the first to jump at the invitation. With husbands' out-of-town and a hot summer evening, a burger and hot dog barbecue was an ideal opportunity to get together for an evening of swimming and eating.

After a quick morning phone call with the invite from my friend/hostess and talk of the menu for the night, I decided to bring a tortellini salad loaded with red and green peppers, cucumbers, olives, pepperonis, and cheese tortellini and The Perfect Sugar Cookie as my contributions to the festivities. The menu was rounded out with bacon and cheddar burgers, a pile of grilled hotdogs, and still crispy sour cream potato chips - even on a humid night.

The Perfect Sugar Cookie is my "go-to cookie" ever since I made 8 dozen of the buttery, sprinkle laden treats for a middle school event earlier this year. I have deemed this cookie perfect for a number of reasons.

1. 99% of the time I have all the ingredients on hand for the recipe.
2. It takes about 5 minutes to mix up the batter.
3. The cookies are "drop" cookies which means no rolling and cutting out.
4. They are the same size every time - a whopping 3 inches across.
5. The sprinkles cover the whole cookie after they are baked.
6. They are delicious.
7. The cookies come out perfect every time.

One young party guest proclaimed the The Perfect Sugar Cookie as the best cookie he had ever had. The next morning as I was unloading my cooking supplies and groceries for my Thursday personal chef client, I noticed that he even "wrote" a note on my not-so-clean rear window of my car thanking me for the cookies.

That was the best thank you note I have ever received. And even more testament that this is The Perfect Sugar Cookie.

The Perfect Sugar Cookie

adapted from this recipe

makes about 22

2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
jimmies/sprinkles for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Fill a shallow bowl with about 1 cup of the jimmies.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter, shortening and sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in bowl and gradually blend into the creamed mixture until dough comes together, about 2 - 3 minutes.

Use a 2 tablespoon scoop or roll dough into golf ball sized balls. Flatten slightly and dip in jimmies. Place 6 cookies on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes. Only the bottoms should be light brown. Remove cookies from baking sheet and cool on a piece of parchment paper on the counter.