Grandma’s Favorite Soft Cookies with Brown Sugar Icing

Ingredients

• 2 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 0.5 cup buttermilk
• 0.5 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 small box instant vanilla pudding
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp baking soda
• 0.5 cup butter
• 0.5 cup light brown sugar
• 0.5 cup dark brown sugar
• 0.25 cup whole milk
• 2 cup icing sugar (Sifted)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Steps

1. 1

   Beat the sugar and eggs together until combined.

2. 2

   Add the buttermilk and vegetable oil, then mix.

3. 3

   Mix in the instant vanilla pudding.

4. 4

   Add the dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms. The author notes that the dough may be very sticky; do not add extra flour.

5. 5

   Chill the dough for a couple of hours.

6. 6

   Scoop the dough into fairly large portions and flatten them slightly.

7. 7

   Bake at 350°F (about 175°C) for around 9–12 minutes. Remove the cookies while they are still pale and just set so they remain very soft.

8. 8

   Place the butter and both brown sugars in a medium pot.

9. 9

   Stir over medium heat and cook until the mixture comes to a boil; it will look grainy.

10. 10

    Add the whole milk and stir.

11. 11

    Bring the mixture back to a boil, until the brown sugar dissolves.

12. 12

    Remove the pot from the heat. Add the sifted icing sugar and vanilla extract.

13. 13

    Beat vigorously until the icing is smooth.

14. 14

    Use the hot icing immediately to frost the cookies, as it will begin to set. Let the icing cool and set on the cookies.

Notes

The author says dairy made a major difference to the flavor and softness, and recommends using both light and dark brown sugars in the icing. Sifting the dry ingredients also made a noticeable difference. The source does not specify the pudding-box weight, cookie yield, exact dough chilling duration, or number of cookies; the yield and pudding weight are estimates. The icing instructions mention frosting a cake, but it is applied to these cookies here.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• cookies
• baked
• soft
• vegetarian