It’s that time of the year again….Christmas is just around the corner. That’s why I thought it’s just proper to make sugar cookies as my first post.  I got this recipe from the Martha Stewart’s Cookies book which I like because in every single recipe in this book you’ll see how the finished cookie will look like.

My son loves making these cookies with me ( or anything with flour in it..and sugar of course! ).  This is one of those recipes that you can make into a family bonding time. Anyway, here goes the recipe and hopefully you’ll like making them as much as we do.  You can use this not only for the holidays but for any occasion….use bunny cookie cutters for easter, leaves for fall, alphabets and numbers for school functions or just let your imagination take you anywhere.  After baking and cooling the cookies, you can eat them as is or decorate with royal icing.  Happy baking!

Sugar Cookie Cutouts
makes abt 2 dozen 4-inch cookies
( from the Martha Stewart’s Cookies book )

Ingredients:

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Here’s how:

1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.

2. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy.  Mix in eggs and vanilla.  Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into a disk.  Wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 325F, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Let one disk of dough stand  at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 mins.  Roll dough on a lightly floured work surface to just under ¼ inch thick, adding more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking.  Cut out cookies with a 4- to 5- inch cookie cutter, transferring shapes to parchment paper-lined baking sheet as you work.  Roll out the scraps, and repeat.  Repeat with remaining disk of dough.   Chill cookies in freezer until very firm, about 15 mins.

4. Bake, switching positions of sheets and rotating halfway through, until edges turn golden, 1 to 18 mins.  Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Recipe for Royal Icing:
makes 2 ½ cups

1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons meringue powder
scant ½ cup water

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted  with the paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed until smooth, abt 7 mins.  If icing is too thick, add more water; if too thin, beat icing 2 to 3 mins more or add more confectioners’ sugar a tablespoon at a time.  Use icing immediately, or store in an airtight container up to 2 days (icing hardens quickly when exposed to air).  Beat well with a rubber spatula before using.

To decorate:

Tint icing with food coloring. Put icing in a piping bag and decorate cookies as desired.  After icing cookies, let them sit out overnight to set.  Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

NOTE: If you don’t have meringue  powder or only wants to decorate part of the cookies, you can use this other icing recipe which you can make in a cinch.

Sugar Icing Recipe:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
5 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
¼ tsp vanilla or almond extract

1. Place all ingredients together in a small bowl and mix until smooth. Separate in small cups and color as desired. For thinner icing, add more milk a tsp at a time ( up to 2 tsps ) or if you want the icing a little thicker, add a bit more confectioners’ sugar.