Best Sugar Cookies

By brendaz

These are by far the best sugar cookies I have ever tasted. The secret to a sugar cookie that will hold its shape and yet still be tender in the middle is to STIR the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Give it a try!

Ingredients

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

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 60mins
Adapted from foodandfact.com

Preparation

Step 1

Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. STIR the dry mixture into the creamed mixture until just incorporated. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.

When you are ready to bake your cookies, remove the dough from the fridge and let sit on the counter for a few minutes to soften up a bit. Roll dough to 1/4" to 1/2" thickness and cut into desired shapes. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 6 to 8 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to brown (larger cookies may need another minute or so). Remove from oven and let cool on pan for 2 minutes before removing the cookies to a wire rack.

If you choose to ice your cookies as I have, start with a couple of cups of confectioner's sugar and add cold water, a teaspoon at a time, until you have a thin icing. You can add a couple of drops of food coloring if you like.

For the snowflake cookies shown, ice the cookies using a small paintbrush (I get mine from the dollar-store) and while they are still wet, place a dragee on each corner using a pair of tweezers. Once the icing and dragees have set you can freeze these cookies if you choose. Enjoy! For more recipes and instruction visit my blog Apron Strings and Tasty Things at www.foodandfact.com