by Kessie Carroll

Created on: May 27, 2010

Sugar cookies are a staple of the holidays, whether it be Easter, Halloween or Christmas. Cut them out in fun shapes, decorate with sprinkles, frosting, or candy. But how do you make them?

Here is a basic recipe:

Sugar cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4ths teaspoon baking powder
1/4th teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Powdered sugar

Directions:

In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Place butter and sugar in large bowl, and beat with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Set mixer to lowest speed, and gradually add flour. Beat dough until it begins to form a ball. Divide in half, wrap in plastic or waxed paper and refrigerate for two hours, or freeze for half an hour.

This ensures that your cookie dough will be firm enough to roll out.

Construction:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle your roll-out surface with powdered sugar. Remove 1 lump of dough from the refrigerator or freezer at a time, and roll out dough with rolling pin coated in powdered sugar. Roll dough to 1/4th of an inch thick, and check occasionally to make sure that your dough is not sticking.

If your dough has become warm and sticky, chill a cookie sheet and rest it on top of the dough for ten minutes.

Cut dough into shapes with cookie cutters dipped in powdered sugar, and place 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies just begin to brown on the edges. Let cookies rest on cookie sheets for 2 minutes before removing them to wire racks for complete cooling.

Decorating tips:

For decorating sugar cookies, there are two types of frosting to choose from: Frosting and Icing.

Frosting is generally soft and creamy, and is spread on easily with a butter knife or spatula. It can be piped on with a decorating bag and a small shaped tip.

Icing is thinner and more runny than frosting, and works best if piped on with a decorating bag. But it dries into a hard, shiny finish, and can be quite beautiful.

Both types can be decorated with sprinkles, colored sugars, or white chocolate tinted different colors with food coloring.

Buttercream Frosting recipe:

1 cup butter or butter-flavored Crisco
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4th teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 fluid ounces heavy cream

With electric mixer, cream butter or Crisco until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until blended. Add salt, vanilla and cream. Blend on low speed until moist. Add additional cream if frosting is too thick, then beat on high speed until frosting is fluffy. If desired, divide frosting into small bowls and stir in food coloring to create various colors.

Powdered Sugar Icing recipe:

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
food color, if desired

Combine powdered sugar, water, 1 tablespoon butter, corn syrup and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in small mixer bowl; mix until powdered sugar is moistened. Beat at medium speed until smooth, adding additional water if necessary, to reach desired glazing consistency. Tint with food color, if desired.

References:
http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe306.b uttercreamfrosting.html
http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe288.p owderedsugaricingi.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/sugar -cookies-recipe/index.html

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