National Sugar Cookie Day

Since it's National Sugar Cookie Day, I wanted to share a favorite sugar cookie recipe of mine and the boys. The boys love decorating and I love (eating) sugar cookies. It's always a win-win. I originally found this sugar cookie recipe on this page:

Sugar Cookie Recipe

I was drawn to this recipe because it took less time and it didn't require cream of tartar. Most of the recipes I found required that ingredient. This one is very similar to one I've previously used, maybe even almost exact with the exception of using confectioners' sugar for rolling. I had only used flour for rolling in the past. I also appreciated that the ingredients were listed in order of use. I did the same below.

I'm also going to note that I used all organic ingredients. I followed the recipe, but the serving size was not the same. Apparently, my cookies were much larger than the cookies in the original recipe. I came out with exactly 19 cookies, instead of 36. To adjust for size, I baked them for 14 minutes instead of the recommended 12.

At the time I made these, I did not have any cookie cutters, so I improvised and used a small glass to cut round circles into the cookie dough. You don't have to own cookie cutters to make simple sugar cookies! Although, I have several types of cookie cutters now. 😉

Recipe:
1 cup or 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Confectioners' sugar for rolling

So, this is what I did for the recipe:

1. Cream together 1 cup of unsalted butter and 1 cup of granulated sugar in a large bowl. It stated about 3 minutes - which seemed to be about what it took.
2. Then, beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla to the mixture.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a smaller bowl. Mix well.
4. Slowly add the flour to the butter and sugar mixture in the larger bowl.
5. Next, dust the countertop with confectioners' sugar. Roll the dough out on the counter to the preferred thickness. *You can also separate it into halves before rolling, but I didn't.*
6. Cut the sugar cookies with cookie cutters. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies from the counter to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. *You can also use a cup to cut the cookies or you can roll them into balls, then flatten onto the cookie sheet. Rolling/cutting them out makes them perfect for decorating though.*
7. Place the cookie sheet into the freezer for about 15 minutes. This helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much. Pre-heat the oven to 350º F. Bake the cookies for approximately 12-14 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your cookies. 

For softer cookies, remove once the cookies start to brown on the bottom of the cookie. You can tell by looking at the edges of them. If you want crisper cookies, let them bake for a bit longer. I prefer soft sugar cookies, so I remove them as soon as the bottom edges turn light brown. Allow them to cool completely before decorating.

I have an icing recipe I like to use for my cookies, but I used a pre-made frosting because I was short on time. The author does list a cookie icing recipe. I haven't tried it, but it appears to be rather simple as well. I will definitely check out this recipe in the future. The boys helped decorate and they came out rather well.

Happy Baking!