Sugar Cookie Recipe

The first thing you need when making sugar cookies is a good sugar cookie recipe. I tested many and found that I like  Martha Stewart’s Sugar Cookie Recipe the best. I love the taste and the softness of these cookies but it still had a crisp edge. One day I may create my own and call it “My Favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe” or I might use this one until I die. I want to encourage all of you to test a few recipes and see which one you like the best. You can always play around with the flavors to make it your own.

Ingredients:

4 cups All-Purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 sticks butter (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

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

Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy.

Mix in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low.

Gradually mix in the flour mixture with your mixer on low increasing speed as needed. Add a little at a time. Don’t dump it all in at once.

Divide dough into 4 discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least one hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325°. Let disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. I use spacers to roll out the dough so it is even every time. I got mine here.

Remove top layer of plastic wrap and place on top of disc

I bought Mainstay Flexible Cutting Mats to roll my dough on. They are great because you can roll your dough on them with the plastic wrap on top so you don’t have to use flour. Flour will make your cookies tougher when you re-roll. They are also flexible enough to bend when removing your cutouts. I got them at Wal-mart.

They are in a 3 pack and less then $5.

Cut out your shapes. Remove the excess dough and place the mat with the cutouts in the freezer until the dough is very firm, about 15 minutes.

Then, I turn the mat upside down and pull it away from the cookies so the cookies come right off.

 Place on baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps, and repeat.

 Baking times will vary. Martha Stewart’s recipe says bake 15 to 18 minutes but mine only take 11 minutes. It all depends how thick you roll your dough. You need to watch yours the first few times you bake to learn how long yours will take. Remove from oven and let them cool on wire racks.

Sugar Cookie Recipe:

Happy Baking,