I just made a practice batch of NFSC and I had several people taste it and all of them thought it tasted different. They thought that the flavor was flat and it had a dough-like taste to it. The only thing I could think of was that I might have only added 1 tsp of vanilla to the dough instead of 2. Also, when I was defrosting the butter in the microwave, it was a little bit melted when I mixed it. Do you think any of these might be the cause of the cookie tasting different?

The only time I've had a "doughy" flavor was when I didn't bake them long enough.

I make my cookies about 3/8 inch thick, and usually bake them for 12-14 minutes depending on the size of the cookie, until they start to get slightly golden at the edges.

If your cookies are thick, and you follow the baking times in the recipe, they may not be fully baked.

You can also add different flavors to them, if you want to. Using only half the amount of vanilla might make a small difference, I'm not sure.

The cookies aren't overly sweet by themselves, but they're perfect and not TOO sweet when they have the icing on them.

hth!
Laura.

I use almond flavor in mine and they are wonderful! Also, I think that NFSC are meant to be less sweet, because of the the icing. I don't like royal icing, but when paired with these cookies the combination is delicious!