Here is the BEST sugar cookie recipe I have EVER tried….and it is followed by a great sugar cookie icing recipe!!
Sugar Cookies
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup colored sugar for decoration (this is only if you want to bake in the sugar – I do not use this)
3/4 cup butter
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl combine the flour and salt with a wire whisk.
3. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until well blended. Scrape down sides of bowl, then add the flour mixture a ½ cup at a time. Blend on low speed just until combined. Do not over mix.
4. Gather dough into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap or a plastic bag. Refrigerate for at least one hour until firm…even overnight is fine.
5. On a floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thickness (about as thick as a pencil). With cookie cutters, cut dough into desired shapes and place on parchment paper in an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes (I normally go 13 minutes), being careful not to brown. Immediately transfer cookies with a spatula to a cool, flat surface. Preferably a wire rack.
When you taste these cookies you will say….I guess they are pretty good….BUT when you apply the icing and then taste them you will call them the best EVER!!!! Additional to the icing recipe you will need food coloring and non perils to decorate with. You can also incorporate colored sugar here to create a texture on the cookies.
Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tblsp milk
2 tsp light corn syrup
¼ tsp almond extract
Directions:
Combine and mix all ingredients in a bowl with a hand mixer. Add food coloring to color the icing. It will be thick. You want it thick. However if the icing is too thick to work with, add just a few drops of milk and an additional tsp of corn syrup to the mixture.
When I use the icing I lay the cookie flat in the bowl, presentation side down right in the icing for a couple seconds. Then I pull it out and let the excess run off the cookie. I use wax paper like a place mat to work on. As soon as the icing is on the cookie you start to add the non-perils/ sugar that you want to use. Let them sit for a few hours before you put them away so that the icing can harden….and of course while you are making them, sample them with the icing to see how great of a combination the cookie and the icing are!!!
