Super Soft Sugar Cookies (Copycat Paradise Bakery Recipe) (2024)

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By Lina | Recipe/DIY Content Creator

Dec 18, 2020 @ 2:05 PM MST

Super Soft Sugar Cookies

yield: 12 SERVINGS

prep time: 10 MINUTES

cook time: 10 MINUTES

total time: 20 MINUTES

Ingredients

  • 2 cups shortening
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 and 1/3 cup cake flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • sugar, for decorating

Directions

1

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2

Using an electric mixer, cream together both types of sugar and the shortening.

4

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

5

Slowly stir together wet and dry ingredients. Don’t over mix.

6

Drop spoonfuls of dough on a cookie sheet. Press down a little to flatten.

7

Bake at 375 degrees for about 9 minutes. Cookies are done when cracked a little around the edges, but not yet brown.

8

Remove from oven, place on a cooling rack, and top with granulated sugar or sprinkles.

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Super Soft Sugar Cookies (Copycat Paradise Bakery Recipe) (1)

Love sugar cookies?

If you’ll be doing some baking this holiday season, consider making these super soft, melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookies. This simple and straightforward recipe uses cake flour and shortening for a thick, soft, bakery-style sugar cookie, just like you’d find at Paradise Bakery, a popular chain of café-restaurants owned by Panera Bread.

Super Soft Sugar Cookies (Copycat Paradise Bakery Recipe) (2)

Hip tips for making these copycat Paradise Bakery sugar cookies:

  • This recipe calls for shortening, which gives the cookies their thick, satisfying texture. You can choose to substitute butter for shortening if you prefer, but you may find that your cookies come out flatter and not quite as soft. As a compromise, you could try using half butter and half shortening, or even a butter-flavored shortening, which would give you all the benefits of shortening with the flavor of butter!
  • Don’t have any cake flour on hand? Try using this easy workaround: For every 1 cup of cake flour needed, add 2 tablespoons cornstarch to the bottom of a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill the cup to the top with all-purpose flour and level.
  • To get cookies that have a soft, cake-like texture, be sure not to overmix when combining your wet and dry ingredients. Doing so can cause your cookies to come out “tough.” When it’s time to combine your wet and dry ingredients, gently stir them together just until they’re mixed.

Super Soft Sugar Cookies (Copycat Paradise Bakery Recipe) (3)

Print

Super Soft Sugar Cookies

yield: 12 SERVINGS

prep time: 10 MINUTES

cook time: 10 MINUTES

total time: 20 MINUTES

Make these delicious copycat Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies, perfect for any small dessert bite or holiday cookie batch!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups shortening
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 and 1/3 cup cake flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • sugar, for decorating

Directions

1

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2

Using an electric mixer, cream together both types of sugar and the shortening.

3

Add in beaten egg and vanilla extract. Mix for a couple of minutes until smooth.

4

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

5

Slowly stir together wet and dry ingredients. Don’t over mix.

6

Drop spoonfuls of dough on a cookie sheet. Press down a little to flatten.

7

Bake at 375 degrees for about 9 minutes. Cookies are done when cracked a little around the edges, but not yet brown.

8

Remove from oven, place on a cooling rack, and top with granulated sugar or sprinkles.

Additional Notes

*This batch made 22 larger cookies, so the number of cookies will vary based on how big you decide to scoop them. Original recipe found at azcentral.com.

Brought to you by Hip2Save.

Super Soft Sugar Cookies (Copycat Paradise Bakery Recipe) (4)

My family loves these Paradise Bakery copycat cookies… and FYI – Santa does, too! 🎅

These happen to be the cookies we make at the holidays and they’re pretty much my favorite cookie EVER! They’re super versatile and can be adapted for any holiday or occasion depending on how you choose to decorate them.

To make them more festive, you could add red and green sprinkles to the top, frosting, crushed candy canes, or cinnamon & sugar for more of a Snicker Doodle taste. You can even add other yummy add-ins like mini M&Ms. YUM!

Don’t have the patience for rolled dough and cookie cutters this year? Try this fun cookie press instead!

About the writer:

Lina has a Bachelor's Degree from Northern Arizona University with 11 years of blogging and photography experience having work featured in Today.com, Martha Stewart, Country Living, Fox News, Buzzfeed, and HGTV.

Super Soft Sugar Cookies (Copycat Paradise Bakery Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient to keep cookies soft? ›

If you enjoy your cookies soft and chewy, chances are likely the recipe contains a common ingredient that serves a very specific purpose. No, it's not granulated sugar, nor the butter. It's not the egg, all-purpose flour, or even the vanilla extract. The simple, yet oh-so-necessary component is cornstarch.

What makes cookies soft and fluffy? ›

Baking soda

When added to dough, baking soda releases a carbon dioxide gas which helps leaven the dough, creating a soft, fluffy cookie. Baking soda is generally used in recipes that contain an acidic ingredient such as vinegar, sour cream or citrus.

How do I make my cookies chewy instead of crunchy? ›

What ingredients make for a chewy rather than a crunchy cookie? - Quora. Eggs, brown sugar and a fat mix of 50/50 butter and shortening are some of the ingredients that will help make a cookie chewier. Also, fluff the flour with a whisk before measuring it — too much flour will make a cookie dry.

How do I keep my sugar cookies from getting hard? ›

Putting a slice of fresh white bread in the container with the cookies will help the cookies stay soft: fresh bread is moist, and that slice will give up its moisture for the greater good: keeping the cookies from drying out. We recommend white bread so that no flavor is transferred to the cookies.

What is the secret to making cookies soft and chewy? ›

Cornstarch gives the cookies that ultra soft consistency we all love. Plus, it helps keep the cookies beautifully thick. We use the same trick when making shortbread cookies. Egg yolk: Another way to promise a super chewy chocolate chip cookie is to use an extra egg yolk.

How do bakeries keep their cookies soft? ›

Corn Syrup (Light)

Light corn syrup is sometimes used in specialist cakes and confectioneries to help keep baked products soft and doughy for longer.

What does brown sugar do in cookies? ›

Brown sugar, meanwhile, is dense and compacts easily, creating fewer air pockets during creaming—that means that there's less opportunity to entrap gas, creating cookies that rise less and spread more. With less moisture escaping via steam, they also stay moist and chewy.

What is the best sugar for cookies? ›

Granulated sugar: Derived from either sugarcane or sugar beets, this is the most commonly used sugar in baking, and for good reason. It's neutral in flavor and has medium-sized, uniform crystals that are small enough to dissolve into batters and large enough to create air pockets when creamed with butter.

What happens if you forget to add brown sugar to cookies? ›

What happens when you bake without brown sugar? To be succinct, the resulting baked good could be slightly drier or more crisp. Without the excess moisture from the molasses in the brown sugar, the final cookie won't be as chewy and the final bread might be drier.

Why are my cookies crispy instead of soft? ›

Adding too little flour can cause cookies to be flat, greasy, and crispy. Most recipes assume you'll use all-purpose, but if you want a lighter, crumblier cookie texture, choose one with a lower protein content such as cake-and-pastry flour. Baking soda helps cookies spread outward and upward while cooking.

What does adding cornstarch to cookies do? ›

Cookies. Cornstarch does kind of incredible things to cookies. I mean not only does it give them soft centers, prevents them from spreading, and makes them somewhat thick (in a good way), but it also contributes to the chewiness factor, which, in my opinion, is the most important cookie attribute.

Why do you put corn syrup in cookies? ›

So, when you mix corn syrup into your cookie batter, all of that moisture will make and keep your baked cookies deliciously tender. The texture of cookies benefits from corn syrup as well. As you combine your ingredients to make your cookie batter, corn syrup will pull some of the surrounding air into your batter.

How do you keep decorated sugar cookies soft? ›

Choose to store them at room temperature or in the freezer instead of the fridge. If you can store your cookies at room temperature or in the freezer - do it. The fridge should be your last resort because of the moisture that can make your cookies soggy. Store the cookies in an airtight container.

Why do my cookies get hard after they cool? ›

Cookies begin losing moisture through evaporation from the moment that they come out of the oven. So it's totally normal for them to harden up a bit. Yet, this is why you need to store them in an airtight container once they completely cool or they will continue to lose moisture.

What makes cookies turn out hard? ›

the more you mix cookie dough. the more the gluten develops and they become hard and dry and an unfavorable texture. reason no 3 you're over baking them. make sure you take them out when they're just slightly golden brown.

What makes cookies soft and flat? ›

WHY ARE MY COOKIES FLAT? HOW TO FIX FLAT COOKIES
  1. OVEN IS TOO HOT. Oven temperatures are a crucial factor in baking. ...
  2. INGREDIENTS MEASURED INCORRECTLY. ...
  3. BAKING SHEET IS TOO HOT. ...
  4. BUTTER IS TOO SOFT. ...
  5. BAKING SHEET IS OVER-GREASED. ...
  6. DOUGH WASN'T CHILLED BEFORE BAKING. ...
  7. DOUGH IS OVERMIXED. ...
  8. BAKING SHEET WAS OVERCROWDED.

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