For The Absolute Best Sugar Cookies, The Type Of Flour You Use Matters
If you love baking sugar cookies to satisfy the sweet tooth of your family, friends, or co-workers, you've more than likely included flour in the ingredients of your recipe. Whether you're making strawberry sugar cookies, lemon sugar cookies, or cinnamon sugar cookies, the type of flour you use for the dough will affect the final texture and flavor of your bake. And there is one type of flour that can help you make the absolute best sugar cookies, and that's 00 flour.
00 flour (or double zero flour) is a finely ground Italian flour typically used to make pizza dough and pasta. This flour is usually made from soft wheat (or durum wheat) and contains a high amount of protein and a low amount of gluten. If you use 00 flour to make the dough for your sugar cookies, the batch will turn out with a delectably airy and light texture.
Flours that produce a similar cookie texture to '00' flour
If you don't happen to have any 00 flour when you're ready to make your sugar cookies, there are a couple of other finely ground flours that can produce a delicious texture in your treats. Rice flour is made from finely ground rice (white or brown), and it's gluten free. You're most likely to find rice flour incorporated in Asian cuisine, particularly in gluten-free dishes. White rice flour is flavorless, while brown rice flour has a subtle nutty flavor. If you make sugar cookies using rice flour for your dough, your sugar cookies are likely to become deliciously crisp and crumbly.
Sugar cookies that have a very delicate crumb can be absolutely scrumptious. If you want these incredibly light and soft cookies, use cake flour for your sugar cookies. Cake flour is finely milled with very little protein, and it will give your bake an incredibly tender texture. While 00 flour, rice flour, and cake flour can elevate your cookies in texture, other types of flour will give your sugar cookies distinct flavors and textures.
How other flours affect the flavor and texture of sugar cookies
All-purpose flour is the most conventionally used flour for cookies. It has an average amount of protein compared to other flours, which can help make your sugar cookies soft and chewy. Bleached all-purpose flour, which is treated with chemicals, can help make your sugar cookies lighter and more crumbly. Unbleached all-purpose flour, which is untouched by chemicals, has been used in recipes that claim to make the softest sugar cookies.
If you'd like your sugar cookies to be just as filling as they are delicious, make your cookies using whole wheat flour, with a higher fiber content. This type of flour is made from hard red spring or winter wheat. Whole wheat flour will make your sugar cookies heartier and add a strong, nutty flavor to your bake. If you'd only like to add subtle nuttiness to your sugar cookies, use white whole wheat flour for your dough. White whole wheat flour is made from hard white spring or winter wheat and has a milder taste.
If you want the plumpest sugar cookies, use self-rising flour for your dough. Self-rising flour is a blend of all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. This flour will give your sugar cookies the fluffy texture of a cake. No matter which flour you choose to make your sugar cookies, remember that what's just as important is how much you use, as you might need a little more flour than the recipe says.