Sugar Cookies From Scratch Food

LEMON SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars and oil until blended. Beat in eggs and extract. Combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; stir into butter mixture (dough will be stiff)., Roll into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Press with bottom of a glass dipped in water, then in sugar. Bake 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

CLASSIC SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, the softened butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the almond extract and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon, until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Divide dough in half; shape dough into 2 disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Roll each disk on lightly floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with 2- to 2 1/2-inch cookie cutters into desired shapes. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts at least 2 inches apart.
• Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely.
• In medium bowl, beat 3 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla with spoon until smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too stiff to spread, add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Tint with food color. Spread frosting on cooled cookies. Decorate as desired with colored sugar or candy sprinkles. Let stand about 4 hours or until frosting is set. Store covered in airtight container at room temperature with waxed paper between layers.

GIANT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with one rack in upper third and another in lower third. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; set aside.
• Using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; beat well to combine.
• With mixer on low, add half the flour mixture, followed by sour cream, then remaining flour mixture; mix just until smooth. (Dough will be stiff; you may need to finish mixing it by hand with a wooden spoon.)
• Drop mounds of dough, each equal to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 4 inches apart, onto two ungreased baking sheets; sprinkle with sugar. Bake until edges of cookies are just firm and tops are barely beginning to brown, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating sheets once halfway through. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

EASY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

THE SOFTEST SUGAR COOKIES EVER RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt to combine.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and mix until fully incorporated. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix until creamy. Add the flour mixture, a third at a time, until fully combined.
• Lightly flour a work surface and turn out the dough. Press the dough together into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
• Preheat the oven to 300˚F (150˚C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the dough to about ½-inch thick. Cut out circles using a glass or cookie cutter.
• Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch in between cookies. Bake for 8 minutes, until the cookie bottoms are golden brown and the tops are pale. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.
• Make the frosting: in a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric hand mixer until fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix until incorporated. Add the milk and continue to beat until the frosting is smooth and velvety. Add food coloring, if desired.
• Frost the cooled cookies and decorate as you wish.
• Enjoy!

OLD FASHIONED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a second large bowl and mix well. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture 1 cup at a time. Chill the dough for 3 to 4 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Roll out the dough and cut it into shapes with cookie cutters or a knife. Place the shapes on the prepared cookie sheet. If decorating with colored sugar, brush the cookies with milk and sprinkle with colored sugar (if using royal icing, leave unfinished). Bake until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies.
• Remove the cookies to a rack to cool completely. If using royal icing, decorate the cookies as desired.
• Combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl. Mix slowly with an electric mixer until stiff enough to form peaks; the icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly. If the frosting is over-beaten, it will get aerated which makes it harder to work with. If this happens, let the frosting sit to settle, and then use a rubber spatula to vigorously beat and smooth out the frosting.
• Add up to 1 tablespoon food coloring and mix with a rubber spatula until the color is uniform. Gels are best with royal icing. You don't want to thin them with liquid colors. Be careful of adding too much color, which reduces the sheen of the frosting and can break down the consistency of the frosting over a couple of days. Store the icing at room temperature, covered, with plastic wrap on the surface.
• Yield: 3 1/2 cups icing

SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and baking soda; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Shape into 1-in. balls. Roll in additional sugar. Place on greased baking sheets; flatten with a glass. Bake until set, 10-12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

DROP SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350.
• Sift together flour, salt and baking soda.
• Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
• Beat in vanilla and egg.
• Add flour mixture and beat until smooth.
• Blend in milk.
• Drop by teaspoon about 3 inches apart onto greased baking sheets.
• Flatten with bottom of glass that has been dipped in sugar (I do this twice).
• Bake in 350-degree oven about 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on rack.

BASIC SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes, or place in a resealable plastic bag, and freeze up to 3 months (thaw in refrigerator overnight).
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove one dough disk; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of floured parchment, dusting dough with flour as needed. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Using a spatula, transfer to prepared baking sheets. (If dough gets soft, chill 10 minutes.) Reroll scraps; cut shapes. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 10 to 18 minutes (depending on size). Cool completely on wire racks. To ice cookies, spread with the back of a spoon. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes. Decorate as desired.
• For the icing, sift confectioners' sugar into a small bowl. Whisk in milk, water, or lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thin, whisk in more sugar; if too thick, add more liquid. Spread over cookies with back of a spoon. Add other decorations, if desired. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes.

SUPER SOFT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar.
• Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and mix.
• In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients--(flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly mix dry ingredients into the wet mixture until you form a large dough ball. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
• Lightly flour your counter top. Roll dough ball out until 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into shapes with cookie cutters (or use a round drinking cup)
• Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 7-10 minutes. Cookies will be very light colored and just set, when you take them out. They will harden as they cool, so don't over bake them.

SUGAR COOKIES FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Mix flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in milk and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well after each addition. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch-thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes with floured 3-inch cookie cutters. Sprinkle with colored sugar, if desired. Place, 2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on wire racks. Decorate as desired.

SOFT AND CHEWY GLUTEN FREE SUGAR COOKIES (CUT OUT AND DROP OPTIONS)

Steps:

• Add butter and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer, or to a large glass bowl if using a hand-held mixer, then cream until pale yellow, scraping down the sides of the bowl once. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until just incorporated before adding the next egg. Add vanilla then mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• In a separate bowl, stir together gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in three batches, mixing on low speed until just incorporated before adding the next batch. Dough should be soft but not sticky - if sticky, place bowl in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
• To make drop cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees then line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper and set aside. Scoop dough into 2 Tablespoon-sized portions then roll between your hands to form a ball and place onto prepared baking sheet at least 2" apart. Press down gently with your fingers to flatten the balls slightly then bake for 8-10 minutes or until the centers of the cookies are set. NOTE: cookies will NOT be golden brown around the edges! Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make cut out cookies: Divide dough between two sheets of saran wrap then shape into flat discs, cover, and refrigerate until completely chilled.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees (this is a higher temperature than the drop cookies) then line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper and set aside.
• Unwrap one disc then place onto a sheet of parchment paper. Working quickly, cover with another sheet of parchment paper then roll 1/4" thick. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes (it helps to wiggle the cookie cutter once pressed to separate the cut out from the surrounding dough) then carefully transfer cut outs to prepared baking sheet. If cutouts are too soft to transfer, refrigerate or freeze parchment paper with cut outs for 5-10 minutes then try again. Freeze scraps for 5 minutes before re-rolling and cutting.
• Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes or until cookies are barely golden brown around the edges. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Frost cookies with your favorite frosting and embellishments (I love Simple Mills Vanilla Frosting.) Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days or freeze unfrosted cookies for several months.

BUTTERY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugars.
• Add oil, eggs and vanilla and mix.
• Add dry ingredients gradually.
• Measure out by level spoonfuls.
• Roll into balls.
• Place on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped into sugar.
• Bake at 375 until just set and edges are slightly browned (about 10 minutes.).

SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.