It took many sticks of butter and lots of time rolling out different doughs, but we finally found a recipe for sugar cookies that we can rely on to produce great cookies each time we make them. These come out perfectly and are appropriate for any holiday or special occasion – just change up the cookie cutters and you can fit any theme. I have www.joyofbaking.com to thank for the recipe!
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 3 1/2 cups (490 grams) all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) baking powder
- 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the icing:
- We use powdered sugar mixed with enough water to make it spreadable (add water slowly!). The icing can be colored or left white.
Sprinkles (optional)
Directions
- In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.
- Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.)
- Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to re-chill the dough, which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking.
- Note: If you are not going to frost the baked cookies, you may want to sprinkle the unbaked cookies with crystal or sparkling sugar.
- Bake cookies for about 10 minutes (depending on size) or until they are brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Ice cookies as desired.
