3 In 1 Sugar Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and both sugars in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Add the egg yolks, vanilla and orange zest mixing until fully incorporated. Slowly add the flour mixture, and continue beating until the dough comes together, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• For rolled cookies: Roll about a tablespoon of dough by hand into a ball. Dip 1 side of the balls into some coarse sugar and place them sugar-side-up on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving about 1-inch between cookies.
• For sliced cookies: Divide dough in half, roll by hand into 2-inch-wide logs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Cut the logs into 1/4-inch-thick cookies and place them on ungreased baking sheets, leaving about 1-inch between cookies.
• For cutout cookies: Divide dough in half, pat into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Roll dough between lightly floured parchment, or waxed paper, until about 1/3-inch thick. Transfer sheets to a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Cut into desired shape using a cookie cutter, place them on ungreased baking sheets, leaving about 1-inch between cookies. (Gather the dough scraps together, pat into a disk, chill and reroll.).
• Refrigerate cookies while preheating the oven to 375 degrees F, for at least 30 minutes.
• Bake the cookies, until the bottoms are golden, about 10 to 15 minutes depending on shape. Cool on sheets until firm enough to transfer to a rack to cool. Decorate as desired and serve, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat softened butter and granulated sugar with spoon until well mixed. Stir in flour until moistened, using hands to mix if needed (dough will be crumbly). Knead 5 to 10 times or until dough is smooth.
• Divide dough in half; shape each half into a log, 5 inches long by 2 inches in diameter.
• Spread 2 tablespoons of the nonpareils or decorating sugar on plastic wrap; roll one log in nonpareils to cover. Repeat to cover remaining cookie log in nonpareils. Wrap dough logs tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate about 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Unwrap 1 of the dough logs; cut into 1/2-inch slices. On ungreased cookie sheet, place slices 2 inches apart, reshaping if necessary.
• Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are set. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Unwrap remaining dough log, and repeat slicing and baking. Cool completely, about 40 minutes.
• To make Powdered Sugar Icing Drizzle: In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons of the milk until well blended. If too thick to drizzle, add additional milk, 1/4 teaspoon at a time. Tint with food color. Drizzle over tops of cooled cookies. Sprinkle with nonpareils or decorating sugar. Let stand about 1 hour or until drizzle is set.

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and both sugars in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Add the egg yolks, vanilla and orange zest mixing until fully incorporated. Slowly add the flour mixture, and continue beating until the dough comes together, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• For rolled cookies: Roll about a tablespoon of dough by hand into a ball. Dip 1 side of the balls into some coarse sugar and place them sugar-side-up on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving about one-inch between cookies.
• For sliced cookies: Divide dough in half, roll by hand into 2-inch-wide logs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Cut the logs into 1/4-inch-thick cookies and place them on ungreased baking sheets, leaving about one-inch between cookies.
• For cut-out cookies: Divide dough in half, pat into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Roll dough between lightly floured parchment, or waxed paper, until about 1/3-inch thick. Transfer sheets to a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Cut into desired shape using a cookie cutter, place them on ungreased baking sheets, leaving about one-inch between cookies. (Gather the dough scraps together, pat into a disk, chill and reroll.)
• Refrigerate cookies while preheating the oven to 375 degrees F, for at least 30 minutes. Bake the cookies, until the bottoms are golden, about 10 to 15 minutes depending on shape. Cool on sheets until firm enough to transfer to a rack to cool. Decorate as desired and serve, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.
• Instructions for icing
• Combine all the ingredients, except the food coloring, in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix slowly until stiff enough to form peaks. The icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly. If the frosting is over beaten, it will get aerated which makes it harder to work with. If this happens, let the frosting sit to settle, then use a rubber spatula to vigorously beat and smooth out the frosting.
• Alternatively, combine ingredients in a large bowl, and beat with hand beaters on low speed until the frosting thickens to stiff peaks.
• Add up to 1 tablespoon food coloring and mix with a rubber spatula until the color is uniform. (Adding too much color reduces the sheen of the frosting and can break down the consistency of the frosting over a couple of days.) Store icing, covered, with plastic film on the surface of the icing.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Beat all ingredients except self-rising flour with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add self-rising flour and mix well.
• Roll dough into balls, coat in sprinkles or favorite toppings, and flatten on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes until done.