Annes Basic Sugar Cookies Recipes

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.

ANNE'S BASIC SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Combine cake mix, butter, egg, vanilla, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the mixture comes together into a sticky ball, 30 to 45 seconds.
• Roll the dough to 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured board with a lightly floured rolling pin. Use cookie cutters to stamp out shapes and place them 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. (You can reroll the dough scraps once and cut out more cookies.) Brush the cookies with egg white and decorate with sprinkles.
• Place one pan in the oven at a time. Bake until the edges of the cookies are golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes for smaller cookies and 10 to 12 minutes for larger. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for 1 minute, then remove to wire racks with a metal spatula to cool completely, about 20 minutes.

BASIC SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat butter until fluffy, beat in sugar in 3 additions.
• Beat in egg and vanilla.
• In separate bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt; beat into butter mixture in 3 additions.
• Divide dough in 2 equal portions and shape into discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• On lightly floured surface roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness, cut into shapes.
• Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets, greased or lined with parchment paper (I spray mine with PAM).
• Bake until light golden for about 10 minutes. Depending on your oven you may have to turn pans halfway through.
• Mix cookie glaze ingredients until preferred consistency and have fun decorating!