Sugar cookies couldn’t be a more appropriate way to kick off the our 25 Days Of Cookies countdown. They are a good baby step into the crispy crunchy chewy wonderful cookie world. If you’re one of those people that frowns upon sugar cookies for being “plain,” I urge you to look at this plainness in a positive way. They are simple and sweet and can be dunked into tea for breakfast. They can be frosted with shiny glazes for a an extra sugary finish. They make the ideal snack, an acceptable breakfast (in my eyes), and the perfect end to any meal. Plain can be good — no, plain can be great. Also, I heard Santa absolutely loves good ones, and these may or may not be some of his favorites.
*recipe by Judy Rosenberg
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: About 5 minutes
Servings: 24
Ingredients:
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup powdered sugar
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon salt
12 ½ tbs unsalted butter, cold, cut into 12 pieces
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the glaze:
4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup heavy cream
Juice of 1 lemon
Directions:
1. In a bowl with an electric mixer, combine all of the dry ingredients and mix. Then, add the butter into the flour mixture and mix on medium for about 40 seconds, until the dough resembles coarse meal.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until it comes together, about 30 seconds. Remove the dough from the bowl, knead it for a few seconds.
3. Divide it into two slabs, wrap each one in plastic, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F°. Remove one slab of dough from the fridge and place it between two pieces of plastic wrap, rolling it out with a rolling pin about 1/8 of an inch thick.
4. Remove the plastic wrap and use a cookie cutter to cut shapes and transfer the cookies too a greased baking sheet. Repeat with second slab, then reroll and cut out the scraps.
Photo by Amanda Shulman
5. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden but the middle is still white.
Photo by Amanda Shulman
6. Cool on a baking sheet.
Photo by Amanda Shulman
7. For the glaze: Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl. If using food coloring, divide the glaze among bowls and whisk in drops of food coloring.
8. One the cookies have cooled, decorate and then place cookies in fridge to speed up setting time of the glaze, until they harden.
Photo by Amanda Shulman