Sugar Cookies: Danielle's First Trial

As promised to my fellow "Food-trippers,"   I will be posting easy to do baking recipes so we can all practice our baking prowess...

Here is one that my kids love doing, however, this would involve rolling a cold hard though.   One good exercise for our mommy and kiddie muscles.

Sugar Cookies Ingredients:

3 cups (390 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Here is how to do it:

1. Prepare two large bowls.  In one bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. 

2.  In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes). 

3.  Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.

4.  Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.

5.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

6.  Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch (1 cm). (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.)  

7.  Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet. 8.  Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking.

Note: If you are not going to frost the baked cookies, you may want to sprinkle the unbaked cookies with crystal or sparkling sugar. 

9.  Bake cookies for about 8 -10 minutes(depending on size) or until the edges are just starting to brown. 

10.  Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

You can frost with royal icing, if desired. Be sure to let the royal icing dry completely before storing. (This may take several hours.)

Frosted cookies will keep several days in an airtight container. Store between layers of parchment paper or wax paper.