Infamous lunch lady cookies that will remind you of your grade-school cafeteria
So there was this one time that I was a lunch lady.
Yes, a full-blown lunch lady* wearing my ugly way-too-big khaki pants from Walmart, a plain black t-shirt, non-slip water-resistant Velcro shoes (see below), and most importantly - a hairnet.
Oh I almost forgot that I had some nice hot pink rubber gloves to use when washing dishes {these were actually the "cutest" part of what i was wearing}.
For your viewing pleasure {note: this is not a very good video but it's the best I could find}:
Lunch Lady Land
Needless to say, I was a sight for sore eyes... luckily, I had a friend that looked almost as good as I did...
It was a very interesting experience being a lunch lady.
I had to do it for school, so every Thursday of my spring semester in junior year of college I woke up at 6 am, stumbled downstairs in my costume {I prefer to call it costume because it was so unattractive that it was better if I told myself it was a costume instead of a uniform} and ate breakfast.
Then, my friend & I drove out to a school in Tuscaloosa County to help prepare breakfast & lunch for the kids that day.
Other than help prepare the food, we got to do fun things {note sarcasm oozing from my tone} like take inventory in the freezer or run the giant dishwasher room.
There were a lot of large jars, cans, etc of food and condiments (which makes sense since there are hundreds of people to feed), but large jars of mayonnaise sorta gross me out. One time my friend threw up when she opened a very large can of fruit cocktail. Good times...
However, I did love when they asked me to bake. They had these giant mixers; they were really fun to use! And they made the best desserts! They definitely weren't healthy, but everything in moderation right?
The sugar cookies (or any cookies for that matter) were my favorite.
Everyday they printed out the recipes for us to use at our work stations. Then we would just throw them away.
Well, one day, I folded up the sugar cookie recipe and shoved it in the extra large pockets of my sweet khaki pants.
Best decision ever, snagging that sugar cookie recipe for my later use. I figured I should get something good out of this experience...
And I was oh so very right.
These are the best sugar cookies!!
Just like the ones you loved from your school cafeteria - crispy on the outside, perfectly chewy on the inside, sugary, sweet, buttery...heaven!
Pure heaven in cookie form.
Caution: have other people that you intend to share these with because otherwise, you will want to eat all of them and they are not healthy
Lunch Lady Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon avocado oil
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract a little bit less than 1/8 tsp
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars.
- Beat in oil, egg & extracts.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Slowly beat in the flour mixture. Be sure to scrape the sides of the mixer at least once to make sure all of the flour is incorporated.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Space cookies about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven for 9-11 minutes. They don't really brown, so take them out when you see the slightest hint of golden around the bottom edges.
- Let sit on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
*Lunch ladies, cafeteria workers, etc. are wonderful people!
They make lunch for the entire school based on either what the government supplies them or with the (usually small) budget the school has given them or a combination of both. They try their very best to make things better and/or healthier with what little resources they are given! And they truly care about the people they are feeding.
Also, they are not forced to wear the painfully unattractive/unflattering outfit we had to wear.
Virginia McNeil says
if i make these ill end up eating 1/2 the dough and then all of the cookies that end up getting baked!
memeinge says
Unfortunately, you are 100% right. I'm pretty sure the only reason I didn't eat all the dough was because I knew I needed to bake some cookies to take pictures...
they.are.so.amazing! If I had the energy, I'd make them again right this moment
Wheeler says
HAHA I think I remember you having to do that... I wish you had a pic of yourself in the cute "uniform". These cookies are making my mouth water though! I want to eat one right this second.
memeinge says
ha! Yes, I destroyed all photographic evidence of the lunch lady uniform.
The cookies are so so so delicious! best sugar cookies I've ever made {and I've made a lot!}
Pat says
This is probably a silly question, but after you refrigerate the dough, how do you actually form the cookies? Are they spooned onto the sheet?
Meme says
Yeah! I just use a tablespoon (or a regular soup spoon) and scoop the dough into balls. Place them on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart and bake. Hope that helps. Enjoy 🙂
Pat says
Perfect. Thanks!!
Meme says
Happy to help!
Kay Walker says
Have you got an easy buttercream lemon frosting recipe for these? They are soooooo good!
Meme says
I have a buttercream frosting recipe but not with lemon. I bet you could add some lemon zest and substitute lemon juice for some of the milk to make it lemon flavored. YUM!!
xo
Maria says
These are very good but they came out hard. Followed recipe exactly as is & baked for 11 minutes.. What did I do wrong? Made 28 cookies
Meme says
Hi Maria! It is likely that 11 minutes might have been too long for the cookies in your oven. Because ovens vary (and my oven is old and not super reliable), your cookies might have cooked faster than the recommended time.
Next time, you can try cooking them for 8-9 minutes (or until they are just ever so slightly golden on the edges) and allow them to rest on the baking sheet for 2-5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Hope that helps! 🙂
ciara says
Did the original recipe really call for avocado oil or a different oil? What can I substitute avocado oil for? My daughter and best friend are very allergic to avocados These look so good!!
Meme says
Great question! You can use canola oil or vegetable oil. I'll update the recipe to add 🙂
Thanks!! Enjoy!
David L Woolsey says
Thank you for publishing this recipe. I made it last night, and the cookies were exactly like I remember in elementary and middle school!
Meme says
YAYYYYY!!! My heart just exploded with happiness! I need to make them again soon 🙂
Jackie says
I didn't refrigerate the cookies and they are soft in the middle. What did I do wrong? I followed the recipe exactly but forgot about the fridgeration part.
Meme says
Hi Jackie,
It sounds like maybe they need to cook a little longer. Oven temperatures and times (unfortunately) vary, so the direction times are guidelines. You can also allow them to cool on the baking sheet for longer. This will help them cook a smidge more.
Hope that helps!
Neena says
Hi there,
I was wondering, would it ruin the recipe if I left out the almond extract? I do not have any on hand in the house.
Meme says
It'll be ok! I love adding the tiny bit of almond extract to give it that extra sweet flavor, but the cookies are still tasty without it.
Enjoy! 🙂