Best Sugar Cookies

Adopted from America's Test Kitchen. It's the best sugar cookies for me. The cream cheese in the recipe makes this cookie chewy in the middle and a little crunchy on outside.

Ingredients

cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½teaspoon baking soda
1teaspoon baking powder
½teaspoon table salt
cups sugar, plus ⅓ cup for rolling
2ounces cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
6tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
cup vegetable oil
1large egg
1tablespoon milk
2teaspoons vanilla extract


Directions
  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.
  2. Place 1½ cups sugar and cream cheese in large bowl. Place remaining ⅓ cup sugar in shallow baking dish or pie plate and set aside. Pour warm butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk to combine (some small lumps of cream cheese will remain but will smooth out later). Whisk in oil until incorporated. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; continue to whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix with rubber spatula until soft homogeneous dough forms.
  3. Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough,  use hands and roll dough into balls. Working in batches, roll balls in reserved sugar to coat and evenly space on prepared baking sheet, 12 dough balls per sheet. Using bottom of drinking glass, flatten dough balls until 2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle tops evenly with 4 teaspoons of sugar remaining in shallow dish (2 teaspoons per tray), discarding any remaining sugar.
  4. Bake, 1 tray at a time, until edges are set and just beginning to brown, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating tray after 7 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.