It was cookie making day yesterday afternoon/evening and making dinner in between that. We didn't clean up much and this morning my kitchen looked like an elf threw up in it! Now it's mostly back to normal, but today is round 2. I was planning on only making one more kind of cookie (what we have always called Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies) but I think I am going to have to make another batch of sugar cookies! Why you ask? Did DH eat them all already? Nope. They turned out awful!
This sugar cookie recipe has been passed down from grandma to mom to me. They are always sugary goodness. The past several years, when I make them, they seem to flatten out and lose their cookie cutter shape, but they still taste amazing. I've also been using real butter for past several years (once I could afford the "splurge"). So, I thought maybe this year I would try margarine instead. I'm sure that at some point over the last 20-30 years I have used margarine in these cookies. I'm sure when I was a kid my mom probably used margarine (we were pretty poor for awhile there).
These cookies don't even taste like they have any sugar in them. They look perfectly shaped and puffed up some, but they taste bleh, blah, ugh. Could margarine instead of butter have caused this? OR.....could it be because I let DD make up the dough....as soon as I told her to make the dough I had a flash of thought that I should not have done this. She is notorious for messing up recipes, usually using the wrong amount of some ingredient. Did she mess up this time? She looked back over the recipe card and swears she put all the ingredients in (but did she put the right amounts in?).
So, I have these beautiful looking cookies that taste terrible. I think I will be making another batch....still with margarine...just to see. Then I'll know. Wish me luck!
Yes, the margarine caused it. It is vegetable oil, not the cream that is in real butter. Cream the eggs and butter and sugar before you add the other dry ingredients, then when done, refrigerate for an hour before slicing or rolling and using cookie cutters. It re-hardens the butter and makes for a flaky cookie. Good luck!
ReplyDeletethe margarine would cause them to not taste sugary? We do cream the eggs and sugar, then add dry ingredients, then it is chilled for 2-3 hours (per recipe)
DeleteWhy don't you shellac the yucky cookies and you can keep them for decoration or Xmas ornaments. lolz
ReplyDeleteHubs sis is notorious for goofing up recipes. She once made a pecan pie that tasted like a salt lick....yep, she put salt in instead of sugar!!! We still laugh about that one. lolz