Happy National Sugar Cookie Day!
This is my favorite recipe for sugar cookies!
After much research, scouring my favorite online cookie bloggers, I’ve found that the recipes are practically identical. That must be a good sign? My version adds a pinch of salt. Because I believe all sweets need a pinch or two of salt to taste right.
These cookies are Ready To Roll because you can start rolling and cutting right out of the mixer… no refrigeration required. The trick is to start with cold butter instead of room temperature butter. Which would be a bit hard to mix by hand… but my trusty KitchenAid mixer handles the task just fine.
To keep the edges looking nice and crisp, freeze your cut cookies just before sending them to the oven. That way they will end up looking like Texas, not “a cloud that looks like Texas.”
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup butter cold, diced cut into chunks
- 1 egg
- 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp pure almond extract
- 1 pinch salt
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Preheat oven to 350.
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Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside.
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Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix.
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Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.
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The dough will be crumbly. Knead it with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl for rolling.
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Roll on a floured surface to about 1/4" to 3/8" thick, and cut into shapes.
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Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Place baking sheet of cookies in the freezer for 5 min or so.
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Bake for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are slightly brown. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.
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Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.
I have found it time out just right to have 1 sheet in the oven, 1 in the freezer and one for newly cut cookie dough.
When cookies are done baking, remove from oven and replace with the pan from freezer, and put newly cut cookie dough pan in the freezer.
Do NOT put new cookie dough shapes on a pan that just came from the oven. Cool that pan off by running cold water on the underside, or use a new pan.
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