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4.71 from 27 votes

Crispy Sugar Cookie Recipe (Grandma Prudy’s Thin and Crispy Cookies)

This is Grandma Prudy's easy sugar cookie recipe for THIN and CRISPY cookies, not to be confused with the kind that you put frosting on. These ones are light, snappy, and shatter in your mouth when you take a bite. The flavor is exquisitely buttery. They are irresistible and I may or may not have eaten about 5,000. Dip them in milk! Die happy!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Total Time27 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 60
Calories: 130kcal
Author: Karen

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter softened (2 sticks - I liked salted, unsalted is fine too)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large large eggs
  • 4 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar for smashing cookies
  • red hots optional

Instructions

  • In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat 1 cup butter for about 2 minutes, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl. Make sure it is nice and smooth, light and fluffy.
  • Add 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup powdered sugar, and 1 cup vegetable oil (I like to use light olive oil).
  • Beat until well combined, scraping sides to make sure the butter and sugar gets incorporated.
  • Add 1 tablespoon vanilla, and 2 large eggs. Beat well until smooth.
  • Add 4 and 1/2 cups flour, making sure you measure it correctly (spoon it into the measuring cup.) Don't stir yet.
  • Use a small spoon to stir 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt into the flour. Break up any chunks of soda or tartar.
  • Beat the dry ingredients into the dough until just barely combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Make sure all the flour is incorporated, but don't over mix (or you will get a tough cookie. Who wants that??)
  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a few baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  • Use a 1 inch cookie scoop to shape the cookie dough. A 1 inch ball of dough will yield about a 2 and 1/2 inch wide sugar cookie. You don't want them bigger than that. (Trust me. I'm usually the one using 1/4 cup of dough for my cookies. But not these ones. Tiny is better.)
  • Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheets with about 2 inches in between each cookie. The dough is pretty soft because of the oil, but fear not, they bake up just fine.
  • Add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar to a plate. Lightly wet the bottom of a drinking glass that has a flat bottom. Dip the glass in the sugar and use it to smash one cookie dough ball. Dip in sugar again and repeat with the remaining dough. You want to smash the cookies so they are about 1/4 inch thick.
  • Press one red hot in the middle of each cookie, if you want.
  • Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes. You want the edges of the cookie to be light brown, and there should be no shine in the center of the cookie. The bake time also depends on how much you smashed them. 
  • Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on the pan, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. 
  • Eat 500 a day until they are gone. These are really good dipped in milk. Crispy crunchy heaven!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 130kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 84mg | Potassium: 22mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 104IU | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.5mg