I made cookies before but I could never remember the recipe so I watched a video where they give a pretty simple formula:
- 1 part of sugar
- 2 parts of butter
- 3 parts of flour
It's nothing complicated (I'll start with 100 grams of sugar):
1. Start by adding the sugar and the butter at room temperature
2. Mix it well with a spoon or mixer until it's soft as a cream
3. Add the flour a spoonful at a time until you integrate everything together (you can add something extra at this point like vanilla extract or something like that)
4. Knead and make sure you have gotten a dough that holds together (it shouldn't stick to your fingers or crumble)
5. Wrap it in plastic and store it for at least 30 minutes in the fridge
6. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees celsius (~ 350 f)
7. Take the cookies out of the fridge
8. You can make little balls or roll it out to cut shapes with a cookie cutter but be careful with the thickness of your cookies. Nobody likes ashy cookies.
9. Cookies have to stay in the oven for about 15 minutes but take them out if you see they are brown at the bottom and let them rest until they cool down.
I had baked cookies before but I'll never forget of these proportions. I think they come from a book written by a guy called Michael Ruhlman who figured out proportions for many common recipes. However, I learned it from a Spanish YouTube channel called Paulina Cocina which I totally recommend if you speak the language because she's really funny and has a rather practical approach.
Also, I made them with margarine too so they are totally feasible for vegans. The dough can be stored in the freezer if you so desire but I haven't tried it yet.
(2020-11-06) Try these cookies with brown sugar and whole wheat!