Nothing better to spread holiday cheer than with some cookies!! Since I was giving these cookies as part of a little gift bag for my mom's co-workers who are also my customers and are just super sweet, I needed to make these last minute in time to reach them before they all scatter for the holidays.
As simple as they are, I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I haven't developed my own recipe for sugar cookies. Right at the very last minute of scouring through books and the internet, I was stumbled across the winner. I'm not a huge fan of Martha Stewart's, but I have to say her Ideal Sugar Cookie recipe is AMAZING--crunchy on the outside, but slightly soft and chewy as you bite into it. I changed it a bit to meet my preferences.
If you want to try my adaptation of Martha Stewart's Sugar Cookie recipe,
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 C (1 stick) of salted butter softened (if you use unsalted, then add a pinch of salt with the dry ingredients)
- 1 C sugar
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda). Set aside.
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream butter, eggs, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and continue mixing until well incorporated. Slowly add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Form into 2 discs, wrap in plastic, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Flour working space and roll out disc until about 1/8 of an inch thick. Arrange cookie cutters onto dough to minimize re-rolling. Any scraps of dough left can be re-rolled.
- Using a flat spatula, transfer cookies onto a greased cookie sheet or parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes until a pale golden color. Do not wait until cookies are golden brown or else they won't be chewy.
- You can decorate them any way you please, I used store bought cookie frosting (for time's sake) in red and some green sprinkles for Christmas theme. Allow frosting to set before stacking/storing them.
Sidenote: Did anyone know that you could actually buy cookie frosting at the store?
It's different from cake frosting in that it kind of sets in place, so that the cookies are stackable and can easily be stored. Wow! I feel like an idiot for not knowing about this haha.
FEAST ON!
Andrea
