Deluxe Sugar Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, the softened butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the almond extract and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon, until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Divide dough in half; shape dough into 2 disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Roll each disk on lightly floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with 2- to 2 1/2-inch cookie cutters into desired shapes. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts at least 2 inches apart.
• Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely.
• In medium bowl, beat 3 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla with spoon until smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too stiff to spread, add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Tint with food color. Spread frosting on cooled cookies. Decorate as desired with colored sugar or candy sprinkles. Let stand about 4 hours or until frosting is set. Store covered in airtight container at room temperature with waxed paper between layers.

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Chill for at least 1 hour or until easy to handle. (If you're making the log, do that now and wrap in waxed paper, then refrigerate. When chilled, just slice & bake.)
• 2. Divide dough into fourths. On a surface lightly sprinkled with confectioners' sugar, roll out the dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• 3. Bake at 375° for 5-7 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.
• 4. Whisk or whip with mixer all frosting ingredients together till smooth, adding a little milk at a time till it is the right spreading consistency. Have fun decorating your cookies and include the kiddies! Enjoy! The flavor of this sugar cookie is special and the cookie itself is so versatile. You can sugar them, frost them, roll them out & use cookie cutters or shape them by hand. I've done it all, and never had a complaint yet. I've even shaped them into a log, made Christmas bells or hearts, and sliced them just before baking...like the kind from the grocery store, but better!

Steps:

• 1. Cream together butter and powdered sugar. Add egg. Mix well. Add vanilla & almond extract.
• 2. Mix together dry ingredients and add to butter/sugar mixture. Mix well.
• 3. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• 4. Let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Divide dough in half. Roll out on lightly floured surface to desired thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased baking sheets at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes. To keep cookies soft, roll them a little thick, and pull from oven before brown. They will set up a bit after you take them from oven. Frost with desired frosting. Store in airtight container.

Steps:

• Mix powdered sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Note: I make mine in my stand mixer. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Or, you can freeze this dough up to 3 months. Bake: Heat oven to 350°F. Divide dough into halves. Roll each half about 3/6-inch thick on a lightly floured surface, making sure to add flour to your rolling pin. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet (I use parchment paper). Bake until edges are light brown, 9 to 11 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Frost and decorate as desired. Easy glaze: I prefer to measure the ingredients in ounces, with a scale, so I've provided volume measurements as well. Using a fine mesh sieve, I whisk the powdered sugar into a bowl to get rid of any lumps. This makes for a very smooth glaze. Mix all of the ingredients together. Stir until smooth; a fork works fine, but a whisk is best. The glaze should be thick, but soft enough to "settle" when you spread it. If the glaze is too thick, dribble in another teaspoon of milk, 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Add food color, if you like; gel paste food colors are preferable, as they yield vibrant color, and don't alter the liquid/sugar ratio as regular food colors might. There are different ways you can apply the glaze to cookies. I took the easy route and spooned the frosting. A zip-loc bag could be come a disposable bag, with a small corner cut out. You can then outline the shape of the cookie, and then "flood" it in with more frosting. Allow at least 2 hours for the frosting to set. Just don't lay the glaze on too thick. If you want to add sprinkles, add them right on top of the glaze, before it sets.

Steps:

• 1. Combine butter, powdered sugar, cream together for 2 minutes, add egg and flavorings and beat another minute in KitchenAid stand mixer bowl. Mix until creamed on setting 3. Blend flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar together in a separate bowl. Slowly add in the dry ingredients while mixing on setting 1 to bleand in flour then setting 2 until well mixed. Remove dough from the mixing bowl. Shape into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 3-4 hours or make ahead and store in freezer. Heat oven to 375ºF (convection 350ºF). Roll dough on lightly floured surface to 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes a few at a time and place on baking sheet. Decorate with sugars, etc before baking or after they're cooled & frosted. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until very light brown on the edges. Cool on the cookie sheet for 1o minutes and then on cooling rack until completely cooled.
• 2. My Notes: I modified this recipe to use the Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I always double this recipe because u can never have too many sugar cookies. Be sure and not double the baking soda. Use 1+1/2 tsp. instead. The dough is very soft so it does need to be refrigerated before using.
• 3. Frosting: 1 lb powdered sugar (C&H brand preferred) 1/4 cup butter, softened, 1 dash salt, 1 tsp clear vanilla (keeps it white), a Tablespoon or 2 of evaporated milk. Whisk or whip on mixer all ingredients together till smooth, adding a little milk at a time till it is the right spreading consistancy, Decorate your cookies with as much imagination as u desire. Enjoy!

Steps:

• Mix thoroughly butter, powdered sugar, egg, and vanilla. Blend in baking soda, cream of tartar, and flour. Cover and chill for 2 to 3 hours.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Divide the dough in half, and roll each half of dough 3/16" inch thick on a lightly floured or cloth-covered board.
• Cut into desired shapes and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Decorate with colored sugar or candy sprinkles.
• Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until light brown on the edges.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; blend into the creamed mixture. Cover and chill for at least two hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the dough into two parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of the dough out to 3/16 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets. Sprinkle cookies with plain or colored granulated sugar.
• Bake for 8 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat 3 cups powdered sugar, the butter, vanilla, 1 teaspoon almond extract and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes with 3-inch cookie cutters. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
• Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In small bowl, beat all glaze ingredients except food colors on low speed until smooth. Divide among several small bowls. Stir desired food color, one drop at a time, into each until desired color. Decorate cookies with glaze and other decorations as desired.