One of the shake flavors I love in the summer is a vanilla malt, all thanks to my dad. That’s his favorite flavor and even though chocolate is always a good option for me, I find myself ordering vanilla malt shakes when asked now. Dipping french fries in a vanilla malt? Perfect mix of salty and sweet and a little bit of caramel (how I feel malt tastes). We are always looking for a twist on a sugar cookie that will beat our classic almond sugar cookie, and this one is definitely a contender!

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup malted milk powder (not chocolate)
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• Royal icing & Sanding sugar, for decorating

Directions:

Whisk the flour, malted milk powder, and baking powder in a medium bowl.

With and electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.

Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the flour mixture in two batches.

Divide the dough evenly between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pat into disks and wrap.

Refrigerate until firm, 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Working with a disc at a time, roll out the dough on a floured surface until ¼ inch thick. Cut out cookies with 2-3 inch cookie cutters. Arrange about 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Gather the scraps and reroll once to cut out more cookies. Freeze until firm, 5-10 minutes.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer the pans to racks and let cool 5 minutes before removing from the baking sheets to the racks to cool completely.

Have fun decorating with the icing and/or sanding sugar. Let set about 1 hour.

This recipe is courtesy of the Food Network Cookie Magazine 2020