Best Soft Sugar Cookies

By srumbel

This recipe is a kinda-sorta copycat of the cookies that you can buy at the grocery store, only much better and more flavorful. The store-bought cookies tend to be a little on the bland side, but these cookies taste like butter and sugar and vanilla and have a delicious sugar cookie flavor! I love that by making balls with the dough instead of rolling it out, the prep time for these cookies is significantly shortened. They really are so quick to throw together, and made with super simple ingredients. As a sugar cookie lover, I have made and tasted a lot of different sugar cookies in my life, but I would definitely say these are among the best I've ever tasted.
from thebakerupstairs.com

Ingredients

• for the cookies:
• 1 cup (8 ounces) butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• for the frosting:
• 8 tablespoons (4 ounces) butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream (I used half and half)
• 1-2 drops pink or red food coloring

Preparation

Step 1

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla, and mix well. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix until a firm dough forms. Chill 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400. Roll the dough into one inch balls and place on baking sheets lined with parchment or sprayed with cooking spray. Flatten each ball slightly with your hand or with a drinking glass to be about 1/3-1/2 inch thick. Bake 8-10 minutes or until the bottom edges are just slightly golden brown. Remove and let cool before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and powdered sugar. Add the vanilla and enough milk or cream to thin to desired consistency. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the food coloring and beat until well distributed. Frost cookies as desired.