Vanilla Crackle Cookies (Sugar Crinkle Cookies)
Easy vanilla crackle cookies or sugar crinkle cookies recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. Rich and buttery. Firm, crispy and crunchy texture on the outside but slightly chewy on the inside.
Servings: 42 Cookies
Calories: 94kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter Unsalted, Room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups Granulated sugar
- 3 Egg yolks From large eggs, Room temperature
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon Almond extract
- 2 ½ cups All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Cream or tartar I have made these with ½ teaspoon baking powder instead of cream of tartar and it has worked very well too. The crackly appearance was slightly different. The cookies were just lacking the subtle tanginess that comes from cream of tartar.
- 2-3 tablespoon Milk I used 2% but you can also use whole milk. Start with 2 tablespoon and add more if necessary to bring the dough together.
- 1 cup Additional granulated sugar For rolling cookie dough balls. You can color the sugar with food coloring if you like.
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add egg yolks, vanilla extract and almond extract and mix until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar.
- Add this dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix everything until you have a crumbly mixture.
- Add milk and knead with your hands to bring the dough together. I suggest starting with 2 tablespoon milk and adding more, if necessary. The warmth of your hands really helps to form this dough. You don't want the dough to be sticky. A small amount of milk goes a long way.
- Scoop out small portions of the dough (about 1 tbsp) and form little balls.
- Roll them in a bowl of granulated sugar. You can use colored sugar if you like. You can also leave them as is and not coat them at all. It's entirely up to you. The sugared ones are more crispy and crunchy.
- Place them on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper.
- Flatten them just slightly with your fingers if you want a thinner, more crispy, crackled cookie. If you want a slightly thicker cookie with a soft and chewy center, don't flatten them and leave them as balls. I always flatten them a little.
- Bake these cookies at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until they are golden brown around the edges and slightly soft in the center.
- Let them cool and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- Only egg yolks are used in this recipe. Please don't use whole eggs because that will affect this recipe massively.
- I have made these cookies successfully by replacing cream of tartar with baking powder. It seems to be a good substitute in this recipe surprisingly. I still prefer the crackled appearance of cream of tartar cookies more.
- Since I like these cookies to be crispy, I let them over-bake a little until the edges are golden brown and the tops are slightly firm. If you prefer your cookies somewhat softer, your baking time will be shorter at about 8 minutes.
- If the dough feels a little sticky, cover and chill dough in the fridge for 30 minutes and then form little balls.
- Add- ins you can try: Mini chocolate chips, zests from citrus fruits, other flavors of extracts or spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice.
- Instead of coating the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar, you can leave them as is.
- Coat cookie dough balls in desiccated coconut for another flavor profile.
- Read additional tips and variations above.
- Store leftovers in a cookie jar at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 94kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 62mg | Potassium: 12mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 155IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.4mg