Sugar Cookies

I LOVE sugar cookies. They are easily my favorite, and I make them for just about every occasion. There are two recipes that I like, the first is one I got from a friend in Utah (Paddy C.) when Rebekah was just a babe. They are slightly crisp, but still totally melt in your mouth when you bite into them. This is my fave, and I've been making them for years.

The second is from a friend I made here in NY (Rebecca R.) They are also excellent, and soft as can be. I'll list the recipes for both at the end of this post.

The kids love to help me make them too - better than play dough, since you can actually eat it! It's messy with their help, but well worth it for the fun together.

I divide the dough, and give the kids their portions. They smash, and add too much flour and make theirs tough - so I make sure it stays separate. Also, they really like to make sure they eat the ones they made. Theirs are usually easily identifiable!

I like to do 3 separate pieces of dough, so there's not more than a second rolling for each piece - that way you don't add too much flour by rolling, and they stay melt-in-your-mouth texture. I have an embarrassingly large collection of cookie cutters, but I think heart shapes have got to be my favorite.Rolling & cutting.

Me too!

Flour & sticky fingers in the hair. My kids never get just their hands messy - they like to make sure it's a whole-body experience! She sure is cute!

I personally think the raw dough is gross, but the kids like it. Maybe they got it from Rick (he likes it) or maybe they're just kids and will eat anything sweet!

The scraps get added to the kids dough.

Jane likes anything tiny, and wanted to use the two small cutters.

Emily made a birds nest. It took a while to cook, but didn't burn, and she frosted & ate it!

I like to bake them on parchment. A Silpat would work well too - mine is just huge, and too big for my cookie sheets. I am picky about baking them, and only do one cookie sheet at a time, in the very middle of the oven.
I usually bake them for 9 or 10 mins (just until the bottom starts to brown.) I turn the sheet front to back 1/2 way through cooking. However, I'm impatient so I usually use 3 sheets at a time. I have one cooling, one in the oven, and one I'm putting raw shapes onto - then I rotate. Clean up is still easy. The parchment prevents any baked on yuck, so I toss them in the dishwasher.

Frosting them is always the most fun. I like to make my cookies ahead of time whenever possible. (Most of the time, I make then when the kids are in bed, and they just help me frost when we are ready.) They freeze super well, and we like to frost them when they are still frozen. That way they are a little more sturdy, and less likely to snap or crumble during the process. Easier for little hands. By the time you've finished frosting, they've pretty much thawed.

Sugar Cookies

2 cups butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 cups flour

Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs, beat well. Add vanilla, then dry ingredients. Divide into 3 balls, roll 1/4 inch thick. Bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes, until the bottom is just brown. Cool, frost & enjoy!

FROSTING -
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs evaporated milk
1 cup powdered sugar
coloring


Soft Sugar Cookies (from Rebecca R.)
cream:
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
add:
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
alternate:
1 c. milk
with:
1 t. salt
2 t. soda
4 t. baking powder
7 c. flour

Bake 375 for 5-6 minutes, or just until cooked. Cool, frost.

Buttercream Frosting
1 c. butter
1 t. vanilla
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Using whisk attachment, beat for 10 minutes. Add food coloring.