Smooth Sailing Sugar Cookies Food

THE BEST ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.
• For the icing, combine the last 5 ingredients in a blender until creamy. Slowly add the milk so that you may choose your consistency.

THE BEST SUGAR COOKIES FOR DECORATING

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat together the egg and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat until slightly creamy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Reduce the speed to low again and slowly pour in the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture, in 3 additions, increasing the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters as needed. Once all the flour is just incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together. Divide into 2 even pieces. Shape each piece into a flat square and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• To roll, cut and bake the cookies: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Dust another sheet of parchment paper with flour and put 1 piece of the dough on top. Dust with more flour and top with another sheet of parchment. Roll the dough out between the parchment sheets into a square about 1/4-inch thick (about 11-by-9 inches) and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough.
• From 1 piece of rolled dough, cut out cookies with a 2 1/2-inch cutter and arrange on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate while you cut the remaining cookies. Reroll any scraps of dough and repeat the freezing, cutting and refrigerating process until all the dough is used.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets front to back and bottom to top about halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets set on a wire cooling rack, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons water and the vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the icing forms thick and glossy peaks, about 2 minutes (adding up to 1 tablespoon more water, if needed). Tint with a few drops of food coloring as desired.
• Fit a pastry bag with a small round tip and fill it with the icing.
• Pipe royal icing on cookies with the design of your liking and let dry for 30 minutes.

SMOOTH SAILING SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle. , On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with cookie cutters of your choice. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 5-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. , In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, extract, salt and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Add food coloring if desired. Frost cookies; decorate as desired.

SUGAR COOKIE ICING

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
• Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.

SOFT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
• Beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs and then the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat on medium-low speed until completely incorporated. Scoop out heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough, roll with your hands into balls and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Put some sugar in a small bowl. Roll the chilled dough balls in the sugar and arrange on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
• Bake until the bottoms and edges are just barely golden and the tops are no longer glossy, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating the baking sheets about halfway through. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

SMASHED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat the granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs, then continue to mix until incorporated (it's ok if the mixture looks slightly curdled). Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Reduce the mixer to medium low, then slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
• Divide the dough into 18 portions (about 2 1/2 tablespoons each), then roll between the palms of your hands into uniform balls; place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pour the sprinkles into a shallow bowl or baking dish. Roll the dough balls in the sprinkles until completely coated, then return to the baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm and chilled through, about 1 hour.
• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line one additional baking sheet with parchment.
• Place 9 chilled dough balls on each prepared baking sheet. Using a 1/3-cup measuring cup, smash the dough balls down until the edges are starting to crack and they are 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide (leave about 1/2 inch of space between each smashed cookie). If the dough starts to stick to the bottom of the measuring cup, dust with a little flour and continue smashing.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the cookies puff slightly, the centers are still soft and the bottoms are just golden brown, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Once the cookies have cooled, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and milk in a small bowl until smooth and combined (it should be thick but pourable). Transfer to a small piping bag or resealable bag, snip the tip and drizzle over the cookies. Alternatively, use a spoon to drizzle over the cookies. Return to the wire rack to set completely, about 30 minutes. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.