best sugar cookie recipe

One of my favorite Christmas memories is making and decorating sugar cookies with my mom.  I could spend hours meticulously decorating each cookie with icing and the little sprinkles my mom gave me to use.  One time the little girl upstairs was hanging out with us and wanted to decorate cookies as well.  I wouldn't let her, I was that stingy with the cookies.  So she found the salt and pepper and decorated her own.  I was furious!  Now it is a fond memory of mine.

And then there was the year when I stayed at my Dad's for Christmas and I went with my step-mom to her mother's house and we made sugar cookies there.  Those were THE best cookies, big and thick and tasty.  yummmm  We ate so many, my dad was disappointed we didn't have many to bring home for him to eat!

Once I grew up and started my own family, I began the quest for the perfect cookie recipe.  I tried the refrigerated crap stuff, yuck!  Everything was hard to roll and too thin.  But 5 years ago I stumbled across this recipe, and have been using it ever since for my sugar cookies.  It is the BEST recipe, I swear.  It makes a lot of cookies, and calls for a pound of butter and 6 cups of sugar.  I wouldn't recommend mixing this by hand, unless you have arms of steel (which I do not posses.)  I really think this recipe was what my KitchenAid was made for.  I use almond extract instead of vanilla (as recommended in the recipe), it is delicious.  You can ice the cookies, or go without- either way they are delicious.  Delicious. Yumm

One of my prized possessions, right up there with my Janome.

my transformer- I plug the KitchenAid in this big heavy box so it works properly

A word of advice to those moving to/living in base housing in Japan- even though the houses are wired so we can use our American appliances- the current still does not flow the same (I forget the technical terms).  Therefore- things like clocks will not always have the correct time, microwaves may not heat food as fast, and things like your KitchenAid may have to work harder.  A long time spouse who has lived many years in Japan (on different bases), warned me that my KitchenAid may even be harmed if I don't get a transformer.  So I bought this big bad heavy thing for $20 at the base thrift store when my sweetie bought me a new (and more powerful) KitchenAid last year for Christmas.  I am just grateful I don't live off-base- then I would have these boxes everywhere!  Hubby told me how as a kid in Germany they had these all over the house, and what a pain it was.


Back to the cookies.  Here is the recipe, you can also find it here at KitchenGifts.com (I don't know these people and have not been compensated for sharing this recipe.)  If you go to the link you can find the printable version as well.

NO FAIL SUGAR COOKIES

This recipe is GREAT when using complex cookie cutters.  The dough holds its' shape and won't spread during baking.  Make sure you let your oven preheat for at least 1/2 hour before baking these or any other cookies.

6 cups flour 
3 tsp. baking powder 
2 cups butter 
2 cups sugar 
2 eggs 
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring (I like almond myself)
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to butter mixture.  Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together. 

Chill for 1 to 2 hours (or see Hint below) 
Roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes.  Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350
degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges.  This recipe
can make up to 5-dozen 3” cookies. 

HINT: Rolling Out Dough Without the Mess -- Rather than wait for your cookie dough to
chill, take the freshly made dough and place a glob between two sheets of parchment paper. 
Roll it out to the desired thickness then place the dough and paper on a cookie sheet and pop it into the refrigerator.  Continue rolling out your dough between sheets of paper until you have used it all.  By the time you are finished, the first batch will be completely chilled and ready to cut.  Reroll leftover dough and repeat the process!  An added bonus is that you are not adding any additional flour to your cookies.

Bake away my readers, bake away!!