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Favorite Sugar Cookies




Source of Recipe


Good Housekeeping


List of Ingredients




1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened (no substitutions)
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Ornamental Frosting



Recipe



1. Preheat oven to 350° F. In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter and sugar until blended. Increase speed to high; beat until creamy. At low speed, beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and baking powder just until blended.

2. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Wrap each piece with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour or until dough is firm enough to roll. (Or, place dough in freezer for 30 minutes.)

3. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll 1 piece of dough 1/8-inch thick. With floured 3- to 4-inch assorted cookie cutters, cut dough into as many cookies as possible; wrap and refrigerate trimmings. Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on ungreased large cookie sheet.

4. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough and trimmings.

5. When cookies are cool, prepare Ornamental Frosting if you like; use to decorate cookies as desired. Set cookies aside to allow frosting to dry completely, about 1 hour. Store cookies in tightly covered container (with waxed paper between layers, if decorated) up to 2 weeks

Ornamental Frosting


We used this hard-drying frosting, tinted with assorted food coloring, to decorate Ginger Cutouts and Favorite Sugar Cookies.

Serving: Yields: About 3 cups
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

1 package (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons meringue powder (see note below)
Assorted food colorings (optional)

1. In bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, and 1/3 cup warm water until blended and mixture is so stiff that knife drawn through it leaves a clean-cut path, about 5 minutes.

2. If you like, tint frosting with food colorings as desired; keep covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying out. With small spatula, artist's paintbrushes, or decorating bags with small writing tips, decorate cookies with frosting. (You may need to thin frosting with a little warm water to obtain the right spreading or piping consistency.)