Chewy Sugar Cookies

Can I be honest?  These cookies are my obsession of the cookie season.  I've made them twice in the past two weeks.  They are chewy, crunchy, addictive, and the cookie equivalent of a session beer.  As a result, I wouldn't recommend sitting down and watching episodes of Season 2 of 30 Rock on Netflix with a full cookie tin of these, because you just might eat them all.  I would,  however, suggest adding them to your "cookies to try" list.

Addictive qualities aside, these cookies are easy to make, and they freeze beautifully.  In fact, I highly recommend keeping a secret stash of these in the freezer, already enrobed in sugar, so that you can pop them out at a moment's notice and impress unexpected visitors with your mad baking skills. 

One thing to keep in mind:  the crunchy sugar coating (whether the dough is frozen or not) gives these cookies freedom of movement on your cookie sheet.  So do pay attention, and use two hands to keep the sheet level when you put it in the oven.  Trust me, 1 stray cookie (or 12!) hitting the floor of your 375 °F oven will confirm that the batteries in your smoke detector still work.    

Notes: 
Before I roll the dough into balls, I break the dough into pieces and weigh each piece of dough on my (uncalibrated) cooking scale to make sure each dough ball is about 16 grams.  I do this so that all of the cookies are the same size and bake at similar rates.  If you don't have a kitchen scale, don't worry!  Just use a point of reference to make sure all the dough balls are about the same size (like the tablespoon pictured below).  Also, if you don't have coarse sugar to rolls these in, regular granulated sugar, or no sugar works well too!  If you're a crunchy cookie lover, just bake these a little longer and they will be crunchy; just be sure to check them so they don't burn! 

Bonus Tip:
Are you having trouble getting the Lyle's Golden Syrup (or any syrup) out of your measuring cup?  Just rub a little unflavored (canola, vegetable) cooking oil in your measuring cup with a paper towel before you add the syrup.  Then, when it's time to add the syrup, just pour it out of the measuring cup like you would any other liquid, and it will slowly slide out.  Your measuring cup will be mostly clean, without any scraping effort on your part!

Recipe adapted from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook

Ingredients:
¾ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup Lyle's Golden Syrup (or light corn syrup)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon extract
zest of one lemon
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
¼-½ cup coarse or granulated sugar, for coating

Yields 3-4 dozen cookies. 

Assemble:
If you're going to bake the cookies right away, preheat the oven to 375°F.  Line at least two cookie sheets with silpat mats or parchment paper.  In a mixing bowl, beat together, all at once, the butter, granulated and brown sugars, Lyle's Golden Syrup (or corn syrup), vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and egg.  Then gently beat in the flour.

Shaping:
Place ¼ cup of the course sugar in a shallow bowl.  Break off a piece of the dough, and roll it into a ball. (See the earlier note about weighing the dough or using a point of reference to ensure that all of the dough balls are the same size.)  Roll the ball in the coarse sugar until it is evenly coated and place the dough ball on the prepared cookie sheet. (Use 2-inch spacing if you're baking right away; use ¼-inch spacing if you are freezing them.)  Repeat with the remaining dough, adding more sugar to the bowl, if needed. 

Option 1 - Baking Right Away:
Bake the cookies, rotating the sheets halfway through, for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are just starting to brown.  They will still be soft.  If you prefer a crunchy cookie, bake the cookies, rotating the sheets halfway through, 10-12 minutes (total), or until they are golden brown, checking on them regularly after 10 minutes.  Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to partially cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.   

Option 2 - Freezing and Baking Later:
Place the cookie sheet with the sugar-coated cookies in the freezer for about an hour, or until the dough balls are frozen.  Line a freezer-safe container with 2 pieces of plastic wrap.  Place all of the frozen dough balls in the container, wrap them snugly with the plastic wrap, and put the lid on the container.  Date on the container, and freeze it up to 1.5 months, if wrapped well.  When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375°F.  While the oven is preheating, remove the cookies from the freezer and place them on a prepared baking sheets (see above.)  You don't need to wait for the cookies to thaw.  Once the oven is ready, bake the cookies, rotating the sheets halfway through, for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to brown and the cookies are still soft.  Because the cookies were frozen, they may need an additional minute or two of baking time.  If you prefer a crunchy cookie, bake the cookies, rotating the sheets halfway through, 10-12 minutes, or until they are golden brown, checking on them regularly after 10 minutes.  Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to partially cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.    Pin It