When I got an email from Jessica at Life As Mom about a good old- fashioned link party I was excited. Until I saw the theme. I am a creature of habit and during one of my baby-moons I shared ALL my favorite recipes.
BUT! I finally remembered that I just found a dummy proof recipe for sugar cookies. Seriously. For YEARS I have told my children to make cut out cookies with grandma because I just couldn’t figure it out.
This recipe rocks! The dough comes together perfectly and is sturdy enough for dummies but light enough to make a yummy cookie. The thinner you make them, the crunchier they are. I like them crunchy myself :).
Ingredients
- 1/2 c butter, softened
- 3/4 c sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 tsp vanilla
- 2 c flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and put parchment paper on your cookie sheets.
Cream butter in a large mixing bowl and add sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture. Blend well. Dough will be very stiff. The dough pictured below actually needed a smidge more, but once I started rolling it out on the floured counter, it was perfect.
Divide dough in thirds or in half.
Roll each portion to 1/8 thick on a lightly-floured work area; you could also try using powdered sugar :).
Cut with cookie cutters. Tip — after pushing down cookie cutter, wiggle it slightly side to side. This makes it easier to move to cookie sheet. I also like to use a super thin, metal spatula to wiggle the cookies free from the counter. The one pictured is from Pampered Chef. Place cookies approximately 2 inches apart.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Frost and decorate as desired.
Makes 2-4 jelly roll pans of cookies. Number depends on size of cookies, but between 2 and 3 dozen. If you want to freeze, freeze after cooking but before frosting. Make the glaze below when ready to decorate & eat!
And because I’m all about real here (in case you couldn’t tell by my non-Pinterest worthy non-food blogger photos), this is what my dining room looked like after searching for Christmas cookie cutters. That’s approximately 120-some cookie cutters on the floor, under the dining room table and into the living room, courtesy of the 17 month old :).
Sugar Cookie Glaze
The frosting is the perfect compliment. It’s not a frosting so much as a glaze that hardens, making them easy to transport. And because its not frosting & drawing, it’s super easy to let imperfection reign here. Glaze + sprinkles = happy :D.
Ingredients
- 3 Tblsp commercial meringue powder
- 2 c powdered sugar
- 1/2 c + 2 Tblsp warm water
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- food coloring
Directions
Beat on high for 3-5 minutes. You need a mixer; do not try to do this one by hand.
Divide into bowls and add food coloring. Spread with butter knives or frosting spatulas. It has kind of a melted marshmallow type thickness. But much easier to deal with & less sticky.
Make when ready to use.
This recipe makes the perfect amount of glaze for the cookie recipe above. I divided mine into 4 colors and had very little left over.
Holiday Sweets & Savory Treats
If you are in search of more awesome recipes for Christmas, check out the rest of the ladies in the Holiday Sweets & Savory Treats Blog Hop!
Holiday Sweets
Nutter Butter Snowman Cookies from Mom’s Tool Box
Cherry Snowball Christmas Cookies from I’m an Organizing Junkie
Chocolate Chunk Toasted Pecan Oatmeal Cookies from Life Your Way
Chocolate Peanut Brittle from The Happy Housewife
Chocolate Peppermint Brownie Trifle from Mom Endeavors
Double Chocolate Candy Bar Pretzel Bark from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures
Easy Black Currant Scones from Good Cheap Eats
Frozen Inspired Vanilla Raspberry Bites from Bargain Briana
Gumdrops from Hoosier Homemade
Microwave Caramel Corn from Ashley Pichea
Old Fashioned Christmas Cookies from Mommy Hates Cooking
Snickerdoodle Puppy Chow from Smockity Frocks
Sugar Cookies for Dummies from Happy Little Homemaker
The World’s Easiest Christmas Candy Ever from Money Saving Mom
Savory Treats
Bacon and Spinach Frittata Bites from Life as MOM
Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus from Jo-Lynne Shane
Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnuts from The Finer Things in Life
Black Bean and Avocado Salad from Kitchen Stewardship
Cheesy Pesto Crescent Bites from Andrea Dekker
Easy Cheesy Vidalia Onion Dip from Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Homemade Sausage Balls from The Humbled Homemaker
Kale Spinach Bites from For the Love Of
Spiced Nuts from Modern Mrs. Darcy
Toasted Pecans from My Blessed Life
Trio of Cream Cheese Appetizers from Eat at Home Cooks
White Cheddar Cranberry Bites from Parenting Miracles
Do you like to make cut-out cookies? How do you decorate yours?
Lynn
2 December 2014 at 11:22 PM (10 years ago)Sugar cookies are a must make every holiday for my family. They are our favorite Christmas cookie. Thanks for sharing your favorite!
[Reply]
jen Reply:
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:36 AM
My family loves them, too, but until I found this, I just couldn’t do it. The girls are SOOOOO excited. We’ve made them several times, now.
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Marie
2 December 2014 at 4:09 PM (10 years ago)That’s awesome. I have been looking for a good homemade sugar cookie mix for a long time, hate having to buy them!!
And the cookie cutter trail is adorable!! Funny how kids like our stuff better than their toys at that age, I could never keep my 3 out of the tupperware cupboard!
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jen Reply:
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:35 AM
The 4 year old helped :). If I let the older ones play in the tupperware, they TOTALLY would. Thanks for stopping by!
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Amy of MomsToolbox
2 December 2014 at 11:00 AM (10 years ago)These look great! I especially like your idea to use powdered sugar instead of flour to keep things from sticking. 🙂
Thanks for sharing.
Amy of MomsToolbox´s last blog post ..Nutter Butter Snowman Cookies & Best Party Recipes for Sharing
[Reply]
jen Reply:
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:34 AM
Thanks for stopping by! I’m loving the nutter butter snowman cookie idea. LOVE nutter butters :).
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