Grandma M.'s Crinkled Sugar Cookies
A butter-and-oil sugar cookie with crisp edges, a tender almost cake-like center, and a crinkly cinnamon-sugar top from being pressed flat with a glass jar.
Grandma M.’s sugar cookies — the one that travels in tins and on holiday plates and that everyone always asks for the recipe for. The butter-and-oil combination is the secret: butter brings flavor, oil keeps them tender for days, and together they give you a sugar cookie that’s crisp at the edge and almost cake-like in the middle. They press flat with a sugar-dipped glass jar (I’ll never forget watching Grandma do this), and they crackle on top in the oven the way sugar cookies are supposed to.
Why this works
The butter-plus-oil combo is what makes these cookies different from other sugar cookies. Butter alone produces a crisper, more snap-prone cookie; oil alone produces a soft, almost cakey cookie. Half-and-half gives you both at once: butter for flavor and crisp edges, oil for tenderness and a long shelf life (oil-based cookies stay soft on the counter for almost a week). Cream of tartar is the hidden hero — it’s the acid that, along with the baking soda, gives the cookies their distinctive tang and the crackled tops as they bake (it’s the same chemistry that makes snickerdoodles snickerdoodly). The two sugars also do different jobs: granulated sugar contributes to the crackle and crisp edges, powdered sugar (with its small amount of cornstarch) keeps the interior tender. Pressing with a glass dipped in sugar shapes the cookie and puts a sweet, slightly crunchy crust on top.
Make ahead
The dough can be mixed up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated, covered. Bring to a workable temperature for 20 minutes before scooping. Baked cookies keep at room temperature, in a sealed container, for a full week — these are an excellent travel cookie because of the oil.
Freezer notes
These freeze in two ways. Dough balls (unpressed) freeze flat on a sheet, then transfer to a zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Press with the sugar glass before baking; add 2 minutes to bake time. Baked cookies freeze in a single layer, then can be stacked in a container, for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes — they’re shockingly good after freezing.
Ingredient swaps
- Vegetable oil → light olive oil or grapeseed: All work. Coconut oil works but adds a coconut note.
- Cinnamon-sugar press → plain sugar (Grandma M.’s original) or colored sanding sugar (for holidays): All correct.
- All-purpose flour → no good substitute here. The recipe is calibrated for AP.
- Cream of tartar → no real substitute, but you can omit if you must — the cookies will be slightly less tangy and less crackly, but still excellent.
Sarah’s kitchen notes
Grandma M. is from my family — her name will go in once I confirm which Grandma M. (I had two grandmothers, both with M-name surnames). The butter-and-oil combination always raises an eyebrow when I share this recipe, but it’s the move that makes these cookies different from every other sugar cookie. Don’t substitute extra butter for the oil; the cookie won’t be the same. The other thing worth knowing: this recipe makes a lot of cookies — 5 dozen is not an exaggeration. They’re meant to be a giving cookie, sent home with people in tins and on plates. Don’t halve the recipe — bake the full batch and freeze half of the dough balls to bake another day.
Ingredients
Dough
For pressing
Instructions
- Cream butter and oil with both sugars in a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes — the mixture will look glossy and pale, almost like a thick frosting.
- Add eggs and vanilla and beat for another 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl.
- Sift dry. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
- Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in two additions, mixing on low just until incorporated.
- Heat oven to 375°F. Line two sheet pans with parchment.
- Roll into balls about 1 inch (a #50 cookie scoop is perfect). Place on the prepared pans, leaving 2 inches between each.
- The press. Pour the cinnamon-sugar onto a small plate. Dip the bottom of a glass jar (a small mason jar or a juice glass with a flat bottom) into the cinnamon-sugar, then press down on each ball to flatten to about 1/4 inch thick. Re-dip the glass between each cookie — this is what makes the crinkly sugar tops.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are just set and the tops are crackled but still pale in the center. Don't overbake — they continue to firm up as they cool.
- Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack. They'll firm up beautifully.
Notes
- Don't substitute extra butter for the oil — the cookie won't be the same. The half-and-half combination is what gives them their tender-but-crisp signature.
- This recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies. They're meant to be a giving cookie. Don't halve it; freeze half the dough balls instead.
- The crackled tops come from pressing with a sugar-dipped glass between every cookie. Re-dipping each time is the move.
