Sugar cookies
Well, of all of the sweet treat recipes that I make the one that people comment on most are my sugar cookies. Ironically, it is the simplest of all of the things that I make! With a few easy tricks these cookies turn out wonderfully! Yes I know Valentine's Day is a month away but I actaully wanted to try out a new lovebird cookie and needed the hearts! I'll show you those later!
My sweet little 93 year old grandmother actually disclosed to me that she has been saving the mitten shaped sugar cookie since last Christmas! I gave it to her along with a tin containing other baking for Christmas. She keeps saying that it is "too pretty to eat". I tried to convince her that they are meant FOR EATING and when that did not work I told her that I would shellac the next batch for her haha...
In the past, my sugar cookie dough would turn out crumbly and I would find myself debating whether to start over or add some water to the dough. Alternatively, my dough would turn out perfect but once I put my cookies in the oven they would spread and my hearts would look like blobs and my Christmas trees would look bloated and deformed. Well things have come a longgggg way my friends. I find that using chilled butter really helps and it obviously makes a difference if you slowly add the flour rather then dump it all in at once...was I the only one who did that?? The more flour a cookie has and less baking soda the more the shape will hold too!
For this recipe I recommend using chilled butter to start!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup chilled butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional but adds great flavor)
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
INSTRUCTIONS
-Cream butter until smooth then add sugar and beat until smooth.
-Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract to the mixing bowl and mix until combined.
-In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
-SLOWLY add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until combined.
When your dough is done it should not be sticky but also not crumbly. You should be able to poke it without any crumbs or dough sticking to your fingers and it should have pulled cleanly away from the bowl. If your dough still seems sticky I would add another 1 TBSP or so just until it's not tacky. Taste a little piece if you haven't already...I promise I won't tell... At this point, I would recommend separating the dough into two balls. Flatten them out with your hands and wrap each of them in cling wrap. Some people just through the whole ball of dough in the fridge to chill - but I don't know how in the world they ever roll that sucker out after! I would chill the dough for 1 hour minimum. See my dough pancakes below...along with my faithful baking companion Mr. Diesel...the perk to having him around is that I never need to sweep the floor after baking haha...
Once chilled, roll one of the portions out and leave the other in the fridge. Roll the dough to 1/4" thickness and use whichever cookie cutter you desire. If you do not want to ice/glaze the cookies later you can always put some sprinkles on them at this point too!! Place the cut outs on a ungreased pan and put the pan back in the fridge for 30 minutes. I have even put it in the freezer for 20minutes and this also works well.
I actually found these cute nesting heart cookie cutters at the dollar store one year around Valentine's Day for $1.25. I use them all of the time! I have seen them there this year as well. I bought the blue mat underneath from IKEA. The link is attached. At first thought that it might be meant for children's playdough. I use it all the time for baking and it makes for a quick clean up! It's nonstick and you won't need to flour the surface.
Preheat your oven well to 375°F. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes for softer cookies (they may appear a bit raw when you take them out but they will be fine) or bake for 12-13 minutes until the edges are light brown if you want crunchy edges (my DH's favorite!). Cool completely.
Notice how crisp and clean the edges are? The chill method is certainly worth the effort! These little guys are ready for icing
See my Sugar Cookie Glaze-Valentine's Day cookies post if you wish to glaze your cookies or my Royal Icing - Valentine's Day cookies if you want to kick it up a notch!!
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