The Best Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies -- Half-Dipped in Chocolate, All the Way in Wonder

The solar eclipse. August 21, 2017. Atlanta was in the path of 97% totality, which isn't total but is close enough to make the sky go weird and the chickens go to bed (I don't have chickens; Miss Ernestine told me this happened at the facility and she hasn't stopped talking about confused chickens for three days). The school gave the kids eclipse glasses and they stood in the parking lot at 2:37 PM and watched the moon eat the sun and Marcus said, "This is the coolest thing that's ever happened," which is saying something for a boy who's been to Six Flags with his dad.

I watched from the school doorway. I wasn't looking at the sun. I was looking at my son looking at the sun — his face tilted up, the cardboard glasses too big for his head, his mouth open, completely absorbed in something bigger than grief, bigger than divorce, bigger than all of it. For three minutes, Marcus was just a kid watching the sky do something impossible. That's all. A kid. I forgot sometimes, in the weight of everything, that he's still a kid.

Jasmine drew the eclipse when she got home. Colored pencils, paper, an hour of quiet concentration. Her drawing was good — really good, the kind of good that makes you realize your child has been paying attention to the world in ways you didn't know. She put it on the refrigerator. It's still there. The sun with a bite taken out of it, rendered in yellow and orange and a ring of white that she said was "the part you can't look at." Nine years old and she drew the part you can't look at. That's my girl.

Made eclipse cookies — sugar cookies, half dipped in dark chocolate, because I am a woman who will use any celestial event as an excuse to bake. Marcus ate six. Jasmine decorated hers with sprinkles and called them "moon cookies" and gave one to Curtis at Saturday dinner. Curtis ate it and said, "I remember the eclipse of 1979." He didn't elaborate. Curtis Jackson delivers historical references the way other people deliver one-liners: brief, unexplained, perfect.

Also made a big pot of gumbo this week — the first time since Mama died. Not Mama's recipe (she didn't make gumbo; she said gumbo was "Louisiana business and we're Georgia"). My recipe. Andouille sausage, shrimp, okra, dark roux that I stirred for forty-five minutes because there are no shortcuts in a roux. The kitchen smelled like somewhere I chose to go, not somewhere I was sent by grief. New. Mine. Good.

Those eclipse cookies I mentioned — half-dipped in dark chocolate to look like the moon sliding over the sun — started with this recipe, and I’ve made it enough times now that it’s mine the same way the gumbo is mine: chosen, not inherited. The Best Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies are exactly what the name promises, which is rarer than it should be, and the dark chocolate dip is my addition, my celestial event flourish. Make them for any occasion or no occasion at all — Marcus will eat six regardless.

The Best Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling) | Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
• For the chocolate dip (optional, eclipse-style):
• 8 oz dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil or vegetable shortening
• Sprinkles, for decorating (optional)

Instructions

1. Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Add eggs and vanilla. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and sour cream. Beat on medium speed until fully combined, about 1 minute.
4. Combine wet and dry. Reduce the mixer to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
5. Chill the dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 48 hours. Chilling is what gives these cookies their soft, thick texture — don’t skip it.
6. Preheat and prep. When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour 1/4 cup granulated sugar into a small bowl for rolling.
7. Portion and roll. Scoop dough into balls about 1 1/2 tablespoons each (a medium cookie scoop works well). Roll each ball in the granulated sugar to coat, then place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
8. Bake. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges are just set and the centers still look slightly underdone and puffy. They will firm up as they cool. Do not overbake.
9. Cool. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Eclipse dip (optional). Once cookies are fully cool, melt the dark chocolate chips with the coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until smooth. Dip each cookie halfway into the melted chocolate, let the excess drip off, then set on parchment. Add sprinkles immediately if using. Allow chocolate to set fully at room temperature, about 30 minutes, or refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 185 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 25g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 95mg