Leftover buttermilk is utilized in this sugar cookie recipe, to give it a slight twang! This cookie recipe is a yummy variation from your typical sugar cookie and great for using up any leftover buttermilk you have in the refrigerator. Chilling the dough is required, but I promise it’s worth the wait! You have to check out these cookies y’all!
You know I hate wasting food, so with a little bit of leftover buttermilk, I decided to see what would happen if I added buttermilk to your classic sugar cookie dough. And I had an interesting outcome…
But first, lets talk for a sec. I brought these cookies (which I also turned into jam bars!!) into briefing on my first day working my new schedule. I had been on a 4/10 schedule for the past year, which meant I worked four 10-hour days and had three days off every week. Now I work three 12-1/2 hour days with four days off. So I am up at 4am, start work at 6am and (hopefully) get to go home at 6:30pm. Kind of a long day, right? I actually like it, which totally surprised me. I thought I would come home dead tired, but actually not so much! But eating dinner after 7:00 every night and also trying to go to bed at a decent hour has been challenging. Because who wants to go to bed right after they eat dinner?! Oh well…I have at least six more months of this to figure it out hahaha.
Anyways. Cookies!! I knew I had to bring in some treats for the guys on my first day working with my new squad. I baked these cookies up and they just seemed a little too…….plain. You can enjoy them as is, or add a vanilla glaze and sprinkles like I did, or turn them into some amazing jam bars (recipe coming soon). So I like to think these cookies are pretty versatile.
The cookie dough is very soft in texture, so chilling is a MUST.
Also, leave plenty of room in between your cookies on the cookie sheet, because these guys spread.
And because these are sugar cookies, rolling in sugar before baking just makes sense 🙂
Buttermilk Sugar Cookies
Print RecipeIngredients
- COOKIE DOUGH:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used Rodelle)
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- TOPPING:
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- GLAZE:
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons warm water
Instructions
In the bowl of your stand mixer, affixed with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the egg and mix until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Change the mixer to low speed and add the buttermilk, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Slowly add the flour, cornstarch and baking soda to the mixture, mixing until combined.
Stop the mixer, remove the bowl, and use a rubber scraper to ensure all ingredients are fully incorporated. Dump dough out onto plastic wrap (dough will have a very wet texture) and refrigerate overnight.
Once dough has chilled, preheat oven to 375-degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and scoop medium sized cookie dough balls. Roll cookie dough balls in a bowl containing 1/4 cup of white sugar. Place cookie dough balls a few inches apart, on prepared cookie sheet. Bake in 375-degree oven for 11-minutes, or until the sides of the cookie start to turn faint brown. Remove baked cookies from the oven and let set for several minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
GLAZE: Once cookies have cooled, mix together the melted butter, corn syrup, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and water in a medium sized bowl. Add more water to thin out the glaze, if needed, or add more powdered sugar to thicken the glaze. The glaze should be of medium consistency. Dunk the tops of cookies into the bowl of glaze and top with sprinkles. Let cookies set on the counter for at least two hours to allow the icing to harden.
Notes
Dough can be frozen for several weeks. When ready to bake cookies, remove dough from the freezer and let defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Store baked cookies in an air tight container at room temperature.
These cookies bake up soft (as sugar cookies should be) and almost have a cake-like quality to them. James said they tasted similar to the Lofthouse Sugar Cookies.
Can’t go wrong adding a quick vanilla glaze and sprinkles, right?!
Stay tuned for the jam bars I made using these cookies as the crust! How would you enjoy these cookies?? Plain, glazed or made into a jam bar? Leave me a comment below!
XOXO,
Kelly
PS- I have linked this post at the following link parties: Meal Plan Monday, Sugar and Spice, Pretty Pintastic Party, Foodie Friday, Reader Tip Tuesday.
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23 Comments
GiGi Eats Celebrities
April 17, 2018 at 5:32 PMI’ve never had buttermilk before in my entire life. But I do recall one time having a conversation with my mom about milk – oh, eons ago – and she told me buttermilk was her favorite when growing up. Mind you, she lives in the Alps in Alsace, France… So of course her buttermilk was probably 10x more BOMB than what we get here! 😉
Kelly
April 18, 2018 at 11:55 AMButtermilk is so weird to me….like it looks like sour, rotten milk!! But it makes such yummy things, so idk lol. I bet the buttermilk your mom gets is amazing!! 🙂
Kim Lange| The Baking ChocolaTess
April 17, 2018 at 6:34 PMButtermilk in cookies are so good! Yum! Great with the jam I’m sure!!
Kelly
April 18, 2018 at 11:57 AMThanks Kim! It was definitely interesting using buttermilk in the cookies! Yummy with the glaze or jam! XOXO
Pies & Prejudice
April 17, 2018 at 8:28 PMI love buttermilk so I bet I would love these!! What a great idea using buttermilk in sugar cookies, it sounds wonderful. I will definitely give these a try with my GF flour next time I make sugar cookies.
I’m glad to hear your new schedule is working out but gosh that does sound super early though! haha I have a few friends and clients who are cops (or paramedics) and many are on the 12 hour shifts and they seem to like it. But I’m sure it’s harder on those tougher days. After 8 hours, I’d be ready to go home most days! haha.
Kelly
April 18, 2018 at 11:59 AMThanks Dana! Yeah some days are longer than others and we are a very busy police department, so after 12-hours I am ready to go home! If you try these cookies, let me know what you think! XOXO 🙂
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
April 18, 2018 at 7:14 AMSuch a great idea! I always end up with extra buttermilk and I usually use it to feed my sourdough but I prefer the idea of baking it into cookies :). These sound awesome, Kelly!
Kelly
April 18, 2018 at 12:00 PMThanks Kelsie! I like your idea of using extra buttermilk to feed your sourdough! But cookies are always a good idea too 🙂 Have a great rest of the week! XOXO
loveatfirstbento
April 18, 2018 at 7:15 AMOmg, talk about the PERFECT way to use up leftover buttermilk! I also hate wasting leftovers, and I seem to always have leftover buttermilk…. these cookies have officially solved all of my problems! 😀
Kelly
April 18, 2018 at 12:01 PMAwww thanks darling! If you have any leftover buttermilk and make these, you will have to let me know what you think 🙂 XOXO
Patrick@loonneyforfood.com
April 18, 2018 at 2:28 PMWow what a long day, I thought I was the only one who worked around the clock. You deserve all the cookies. I love buttermilk for baking!
Kelly
April 19, 2018 at 6:58 AMAwwww thanks Patrick! Yes….VERY long days. And there’s very little down time. Half the time I am lucky if I even get lunch! I think I deserve all the the cookies too sometimes hahaha 😉 Have a great weekend XOXO
Amy
April 19, 2018 at 7:19 PMI actually like buttermilk, and I do like to use it in my cooking as well. The people that you work with are so lucky to work with you. It reminds me of a wonderful woman that I worked with many years ago. She would cook up a casserole or something for lunch a couple of times a week and bring it in to work. She was a fabulous cook and I got some of my best recipes from her. Thank you for sharing this cookie recipe, and for triggering a fond memory for me as well.
Kelly
April 22, 2018 at 8:02 AMAwww! Thanks Amy! I love this! And I am definitely known for my treats at work. People will ask if I made it and as long as I made it, they don’t even care what it is, they just eat it hahahah.
laura
April 20, 2018 at 1:04 PMA little acid makes EVERYTHING taste better YUMMY! pinned and shared.
Kelly
April 22, 2018 at 8:04 AMThanks Laura! I totally agree! XOXO Thanks for pinning!
Maria Doss
April 20, 2018 at 4:59 PMHats off to you for finding time and energy to blog after that 12 hour schedule – you rock it dear!!! And, tangy buttermilk to cut that sweetness is just a fabulous idea, I bet on one could stop with just one. Happy weekend Kelly.
Kelly
April 22, 2018 at 8:05 AMThanks love! Yeah I kind of disappear for the most part from the blog and social media for my three work days. My first day off is blog catch up! Happy weekend Maria! XOXO
Deepika|TheLoveOfCakes
April 21, 2018 at 4:26 AMHow do you manage to blog with this hectic schedule! You are a powerhouse lady! And these buttermilk cookies sound yumm!
Kelly
April 22, 2018 at 8:07 AMHeheheh thanks lady! I don’t blog on my work days….no time hahaha. My first day off is my blog catch up and social media catch up day! But I love blogging and baking, so it’s a good hobby for me 🙂 XOXO
Weekly Rays of Sunshine # 271 | Recipes and Ramblings with the Tumbleweed Contessa
April 21, 2018 at 7:19 AM[…] Kelly Lynn’s Sweets & Treats: Buttermilk Sugar Cookies […]
Colleen
April 23, 2018 at 6:31 AMI always have leftover buttermilk…what a great way to use it!
Kelly
April 27, 2018 at 7:08 AMThank you Colleen! It’s definitely a fun way to use up leftover buttermilk 🙂 XOXO