Foodie Tuesday (1 day late): Inquiring minds want to know

I have a very important question for you all.  One I have been wondering for a long time.

At what point does a butter cookie become a sugar cookie?

I mean, they both have butter AND sugar in them right?  I assume that one cookie has more butter and the other has more sugar.  I did a little digging and what I came up with, is that butter cookies are a lot simpler: flour, butter, sugar.  They are often in biscuit form or pressed, and of Danish origin.  Sugar cookies are a bit more involved, calling for things like baking soda and eggs and whatnot, plus they tend to be rolled out, cookie-cuttered, and decorated (frosted) for the holidays.  Who knows where they originated, but they were perfected by German Amish people in Pennsylvania, and became PA's official state cookie.

What happens when there are equal parts sugar and butter?  Have you then made, as my friend quipped, a 'bugar' cookie?

I bet Reggie has an answer for this.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures below, including buckwheat butter cookies, brown butter cookies, decorated flower sugar cookies, "soft and chewy" sugar cookies, basic sugar cookies, and a lolcat!

1 response
Fantastic entry. I was away for the long weekend, didn't get to read this until now. Thanks for clearing up the different between butter and sugar cookies. I don't think I have ever encounter a baking formula that requires equal amount of sugar and butter. All the cookies recipes call for more sugar than butter. Now I am going to try to make some cookies with equal parts of them and see the difference. I am guessing the cookies will be less sweet, but still tastes buttery, which could be a great flavor. I don't like cookies that are too sweet; they make my throat dry.