The Ultimate Sugar Cookie Recipes

Steps:

• Beat sugar and shortening at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, syrup and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add combined dry ingredients at low speed. Mix until well blended.
• Refrigerate dough 1 hour.
• Roll out dough between two sheets of lightly floured wax paper. Cut out with floured cutter.
• Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 5-9 minutes, depending on size and thickness of cookies. Do not overbake. Cool 2 minutes, then remove from cookie sheets to cool.

Steps:

• Set oven to 375 degrees.
• Prepare an ungreased cookie sheet.
• In a small bowl stir together flour, baking soda and baking powder.
• In a medium or large bowl cream butter with sugar for about 3-4 minutes or until smooth.
• Add in egg, vanilla and almond extract; beat until well combined.
• Add in the creamed ingredients into the flour mixture; blend well.
• Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough into small balls.
• Place the balls onto an ungreased cookie/baking sheet.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.
• Let stand on the cookie sheet for about 2-3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375.
• Place sheets of foil on countertop for cooling cookies. Combine sugar and butter flavor crisco in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.
• Add eggs, syrup, and vanilla. Beat until well blended and fluffy.
• Combine 3 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add gradually to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix until well blended. Divide dough into 4 quarters.
• TIP: If dough is too sticky or too soft to roll: Wrap each quarter of dough with plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Spread 1 T of flour onto large sheet of waxed paper. Place one-fourth of dough on floured paper. Flatten slightly with hands.
• Turn dough over and cover with another large sheet of waxed paper.
• Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out with floured cutter. Transfer to ungreased baking sheet. Place 2 inches apart.
• Sprinkle with granulated sugar or colored sugar crystals, or leave plain to frost when cooled.
• Sprinkle with granulated sugar or colored sugar crystals, or leave plain to frost when cooled.Bake one baking sheet at a time at 375 for 5-9 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies[bake smaller, thinner cookies closer to 5 minutes; larger cookies closer to 9 minutes].
• Do not overbake. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to foil to cool completely, then frost if desired.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375.
• Combine sugar and shortening in large bowl.
• Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.
• Add eggs, syrup, and vanilla and beat well.
• Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add gradually to creamed mixture at low speed.
• Mix until well blended.
• Divide dough into quarters.
• Refrigerate 1 hour.
• Keep refrigerated until ready to roll.
• Spread 1 tablespoon of flour on large sheet of waxed paper.
• Flatten dough slightly, turn over, and cover with another sheet of waxed paper.
• Roll dough into 1/4 inch thickness.
• Cut out with floured cutter.
• Transfer to ungreased baking sheet, 2 inches apart.
• Sprinkle with decors or leave plain to frost when cooled.
• Bake for 5 to 9 minutes (bake smaller, thinner cutouts closer 5 minutes and larger cutouts closer to 9 minutes).
• Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet.
• Remove to counter, cool, and frost if desired.

Steps:

• Whisk together flour and salt in a small bowl.
• Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer or 6 minutes with a handheld. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
• Form dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Roll out 1 disk of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) into an 8 1/2-inch round (1/4 inch thick) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, rewrap in plastic and chill until firm.) Cut out as many cookies as possible from dough with cutters and transfer to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging cookies about 1 inch apart.
• Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, gather scraps and chill until dough is firm enough to reroll, 10 to 15 minutes. Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll scraps only once) and bake on cooled baking sheets.
• If using icing and coloring it, transfer 1/4 cup icing to a small bowl for each color and tint with food coloring. Spoon each color icing into a sealable bag, pressing out excess air, and snip a 1/8-inch opening in 1 bottom corner of bag. Twisting bag firmly just above icing, decoratively pipe icing onto cookies. Let icing dry completely (about 1 hour) before storing cookies.

Steps:

• Make cookies:.
• Sift together the flour, cocoa, and salt. Set aside.
• In bowl of electric mixer, using paddle attachment, mix butter on medium-low speed until it is creamy and lightened in color. Add the sugar in a steady stream, and beat until thoroughly combined.
• Add the egg, espresso, and vanilla.
• Scrape down sides of bowl as needed, then mix in melted chocolate.
• Reduce mixer speed to low and blend in dry ingredients in two additions, mixing only to combine after each addition.
• Remove dough from bowl and divide into quarters.
• Form each quarter into a 4" disk and wrap in plastic, refrigerate for 30-40 minutes or until firm enough to roll.
• You should be able to leave an imprint when you press dough.
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.
• Have ready two ungreased cookie sheets. Working with one-fourth of dough at a time, roll on a lightly floured flat surface until 3/16" thick.
• Using a 2 1/2" round cookie cutter or a cookie cutter of your choice, cut cookies from the dough.
• Transfer cookies to a sheet of waxed paper and brush lightly with egg/water mixture. Sprinkle with pearl sugar or other garnishes.
• Carefully place on cookie sheets.
• Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, for 9-10 minutes.
• Transfer cookies to a wire rack while still warm, and cool completely.
• Repeat with remaining dough.
• MAKE GANACHE:.
• Break chocolate into 1" pieces and place into bowl of a food processor.
• Process until chocolate is finely chopped. Empty chocolate into a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
• In a small saucepan, heat heavy cream and corn syrup on low heat until it comes to a gentle boil.
• Immediately pour hot cream over chopped chocolate.
• Let it stand for about 1 minute, then stir chocolate and cream together, slowly mixing until all chocolate is melted and mixture is fully emulsified.
• Blend in rum and vanilla.
• If surface is oily, stir in 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of hot water.
• Glaze should thicken as it stands, but remain pourable.
• If ganache fails to thicken, chill it in refrigerator for 4 to 5 minutes.
• Watch carefully, as it must not be too cold. Spoon ganache over cookies, letting it trickle down the sides.

Steps:

• Traditional Icing:.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and enough milk until you get an icing that is smooth yet not too thick but not too runny. Add a teaspoon of milk at a time if needed to create the right consistency. Divide between bowls and tint with food coloring, if desired. This makes about 1 ½ cups of icing.
• You can spread this icing onto cooled sugar cookies, or use the dip method, which is what I prefer. Carefully dunk each cookie, one at a time, into the icing and allow any excess to drip off before turning right side up and placing on a baking sheet to set. If you plan on decorating with sprinkles, you want to do that right away while the icing is still wet so that they stick. Continue dipping each cookie until all are decorated. Allow the icing to set for at least 10 minutes before storing or eating.
• Buttercream Icing:.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and shortening until creamy. Add the powdered sugar vanilla, salt and enough of the half and half as needed to create a smooth and creamy frosting. This should be on the thicker side and not runny at all. If the icing is too thick, you can add more half and half, a teaspoon at a time until the correct consistency is reached. Divide between bowls and tint with food coloring, if desired. This makes about 2 ½ cups of icing.
• To decorate, you can spread the frosting onto cooled sugar cookies with a small spatula or use piping bags with various decorating tips to create a more professional or intricate design. If you plan on decorating with sprinkles as well, you want to place them right after decorating with the icing before it sets.
• Royal Icing:.
• In a large bowl, beat together the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and enough water to create a thick and glossy icing. Divide between different bowls and tint with food coloring, if desired. Cover each bowl with plastic wrap or a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out. This makes about 4 cups of icing.
• Royal icing usually has two different applications to it. One is the outline which is slightly thicker icing that you use to outline the designs on your sugar cookies. To achieve this, uncover one of the bowls of icing and whisk in ¼ teaspoon of water at a time until you reach the correct consistency. It should be thick but still pourable. Transfer to a piping bag with a small circle decorating tip. Create an outline of frosting around the edge of your cooled sugar cookies and then let set for about 5 minutes.
• The second royal icing application is referred to as flooding. To achieve this, uncover one of the bowls of icing and whisk in ¼ teaspoon of water at a time until you reach the correct consistency. It should be thinner than the first and pourable. If you lift up the beater the icing should fall and disappear in a matter of seconds. Transfer to a piping bag with a medium circle decorating tip. Then quickly pipe the icing into the center of each outlined cookie, tilting the cookie so that the icing spread out towards the outline. Use a long skewer or toothpick to help spread the icing a bit if needed or to remove any air bubbles. Allow the icing to set for about 10 to 15 minutes before storing or eating.