Sugar Cookie Nightmares
Have you ever made sugar cookies? You mix the dough, chill the dough, roll it out and spend hours cutting shapes and baking only to have them spread into unrecognizable shapes! I was so frustrated, I completely gave up on the idea of ever making cute sugar cookies.
Madison’s Beautiful Cookies
My daughter Madison made a batch of these over the weekend and I had to share her results! They were not only beautiful, but equally delicious. The entire batch disappeared in a matter of minutes! Aren’t they lovely?
Renewed Hope
A few years ago I decided to just try to find a recipe that worked. After several failed attempts, I finally found one I love! Every recipe promises to be the best but I promise this one is the real deal! The soft, chewy cookie will hold it’s shape. It freezes well and the flavor is so, so good. Did I mention there is no dough chilling involved? I have made complicated shapes like snowflake shapes, flowers, butterflies and reindeer with no issues.
Because all of my baking equipment is in storage while we are building our house, I made these simple snowmen with just a round cookie cutter. With a little white royal icing, green for earmuffs, orange for a carrot nose, and black for his eyes and smile, this little cookie is simply adorable.
The Perfect Sugar Cookies!
Equipment
- Mixer and large mixing bowl, measuring spoons, cups, rolling pin, cookie cutters, baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Salted Butter
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 1 1/4 tsp Almond Extract (or Vanilla)
- 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and extracts for 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and mix an additionall 1 minute on high. Slowly add 3 cups of flour in 1 cup increments, incorporating the baking powder after the 1st cup of flour. The mixture may seem crumbly, but turn it out onto a clean work surface dusted with flour and begin to knead it until it forms a stiff dough similar to playdough. Add more flour if it begins to stick. DO NOT CHILL the dough!
- Separate dough into 2-3 sections and Immediately roll out to 1/4 inch thick. Use Cookie Cutters to cut the dough into preffered shapes. Form any scaps of dough into another ball to roll out and cut more shapes. It will not be too dry! Trust me! Place on a non stick cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. Cool before decorating with Royal Icing!
Royal Icing
Equipment
- Mixer
- Bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Piping bags and tips
- Spoons, bowls and gel colors
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 TBSP Meringue Powder Find this in the Craft/ Cake Decorating section of Walmart or local hobby store!
- 1/4 Cup warm water
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (or your favorite flavor)
- 1 Gel Food Colors Find this in the Craft/ Cake Decorating section of Walmart or local hobby store!
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar and meringue powder. Slowly add water and almond extract until your desired consistency. For piping edge colors, eyes, ect. you will need a thicker icing. Check with your spoon to see if it drips slowly or quickly. Slow is what you want for piping. For flow icing (the smooth covering of a sugar cookie) you want the icing to be thinner. Just add a sprinkle of water at a time until you reach the consistency you want. You can pipe or spoon the icing flow onto the cookies. The icing will form a crust after about 1 hour so you can stack the cookies safely.
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Can’t wait try this !! With little Zelda 🥰🎄❄
Thank you! She is such a beautiful blessing!