Sugar Cookie in a Mug

Photo: Ty Mecham

This recipe—a simple sugar cookie garnished with colorful sprinkles and cooked in a mug —nearly broke me. I ate raw sugar cookie in a mug. I ate burnt sugar cookie in a mug. And eventually, after some trial and lots of error, I think I finally cracked the code. This recipe was so difficult to get right because it breaks every cookie rule: You don’t chill the dough. You don’t cut it into cute shapes like snowflakes, ornaments, or dreidels. You simply mix a handful of ingredients in the mug that the cookie “bakes” in. And that’s perhaps the most rebellious act of all. This cookie isn’t baked, but rather microwaved—and in just 60 seconds.

Since every microwave is different, you may need to “bake” the cookie for less than a minute, or for a few seconds longer. The difference between a perfect sugar cookie in a mug and one that somehow, someway does burn is mere seconds. When the cookie is done in the microwave, it will spring back ever so slightly in the middle. It will naturally be soft and chewy, but it should be evenly cooked throughout. Fortunately, the recipe calls for such small quantities of ingredients that there isn’t too much food waste if you get it wrong the first time.

Your mug choice makes a difference, too—at first, I used a 15-ounce mug that was 5 inches in diameter, but the cookie was too thick. And thus, I found myself breaking another rule, by serving my sugar cookie not in a mug, but rather in a 4-ounce shallow porcelain ramekin. But you know what? Anyone you serve this to won’t give that a second thought as soon as they have a taste.