sugar cookie recipe

This is the only sugar cookie recipe you will ever need. Before I started making decorated sugar cookies I would call them “play-doh cookies” because in my experience they tasted like what I imagine play-doh would taste like. These cookies are not just beautiful when decorated but they are so good! I use a full teaspoon of kosher salt because I don’t care for overly sugary sweet desserts.

For the perfect royal icing to decorate your sugar cookies with check out this recipe here.

I have some more tips for making sugar cookies here.

Plus check out cookie decorating ideas and step-by-step tutorials in the baking section under the food tab.

ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour* (see note below regarding flour)

• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 egg

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• OPTIONAL - add 2/3 cup sprinkles for a little something extra. I love these cookies without the sprinkles and I am addicted to these cookies with the sprinkles.

*I use Gold Medal All Purpose Flour. Does it really matter what flour you use? Yes! I used a store brand and my cookies did not turn out! I made several batches thinking maybe I had just messed something up but no, it was indeed the flour. The dough was really sticky and the cookies didn’t maintain their shape through the baking process. So of course I Googled this and turns out the gluten and protein ratios very between brands of flour. I’m probably botching the explanation because I am not a food scientist but if your dough doesn’t look like the cookies below, or your cookies don’t keep their shape you may want to try a different brand of all purpose flour.

Two sticks of cold butter cut into pieces. Repeat, cold butter.

Throw the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment start the mixer on low and work up to high.

Beat the butter until light and fluffy. This will take a couple of minutes.

Add one cup of granulated sugar to the butter and beat until fully incorporated and light and fluffy.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl (don’t forget to scrape the bottom of the bowl too).

Add one egg and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

Beat eggs and vanilla into butter and sugar on medium high until mixed well.

In a medium bowl mix 3 cups all purpose flour (see note below about flour), 1.5 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon kosher salt (yes kosher salt). You can use a whisk to gently mix all the dry ingredients together.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients 1 cup at a time. Mix on low until just incorporated.

The mix will start to look like this. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and continue to mix on low.

***If adding sprinkles to the dough you should add now.

Don’t over mix. When the dough starts to stick to itself and pull away from the side of the bowl it’s done. THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN IF YOU DON’T USE THE RIGHT FLOUR.

Pro tip: Don’t toss the butter wrapper and use it for your spatula so you don’t get the counter dirty.

Scrape the dough into a ball in the mixing bowl.

Get two pieces of parchment paper and coat with a light dusting of all purpose flour.

Put half the dough on the parchment and flatten it out with your hands

Put the second piece of parchment on top of the dough. I like to hang the parchment over the edge of the counter and then use my stomach to hold the parchment in place. Seems a little silly (it kind of is) but this is the only way I can keep the parchment from sliding all over the counter.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin. The goal is about a 1/4 inch thick slab-o-dough. Better to be a little too thick than too thin. Place this dough (parchment sheets and all) in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to 24 hours. Repeat this whole process with the second half of dough.

Take the dough out of the fridge and roll out more if too thick. Cut out shapes with the cookie cutter of your choice. Place shapes on lined baking sheet. You can use the top layer of parchment to line the baking sheet.

The shapes should easily cut away and easily push out of the cookie cutter. Put the cookie sheet in the freezer and allow the cookie shapes to freeze for about 10-15 minutes.

Gather up the scraps and set aside.

Repeat cutting and freezing steps with second half of dough.

This is how thick the cookies should be. You can make them thicker or thinner but you will need to adjust the baking time.

Combine all the scraps, roll out the dough and refrigerate.

Bake cookies for 14 minutes. You want the edges of the cookies to be just turning golden. Your oven may be a little different give or take a few minutes so keep an eye on your cookies around the 13 minute mark.

Transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Wait until they are completely cool before decorating.

instructions

1. In a medium bowl mix together flour, baking powder and kosher salt with a small whisk.Set aside.

2. Cut the cold butter into several pieces. (Leave the wrapping for one stick of butter.It comes in handy later to rest your spatula on without getting the counter dirty)

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer add the butter and granulated sugar.Using the paddle attachment, mix on low until the butter starts to break up and the granulated sugar starts to incorporate with the butter. (If you start the mixer on high the sugar will fly out).

4. Increase mixing speed tomedium high and mix for about 2 minutes until the butter is light and fluffy.If you don't have a stand mixer you can do this with a handheld electric mixer but it may take a few more minutes to get the butter fully beaten and the sugar incorporated.

5. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula.Make sure to scrape up the bottom.

6. Add the egg and vanilla to the butter and sugar. Start to mix on low and then increase speedto medium high and beat until fully incorporated, about 1-2 minutes.

7. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl again with a rubber spatula and add the flour, baking powder, salt mixture a cup at a time to the butter, egg, vanilla, mixture.Mix on low until just incorporated before adding another cup of the flour mixture.

8. Once all the flour mixture has been added and mixed scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure everything is completely mixed together.Do not over mix!

9. The dough should start to stick together and pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl.Scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl one last time to make sure everything is mixed together.

10. The dough is ready to roll and chill before being cut into shapes.

11. Once you have made the dough form it into a ball in the bottom of the mixing bowl and cut it in half.

12. Prepare a large sheet of parchment paper and lay it flat on the counter rolled edge side down (if the rolled edge side is up your paper will just keep rolling up on itself).Lightly dust the parchment paper with a little all purpose flour.

13. Take half of the cookie dough and put it in the center of the parchment.Dust the top of the dough slightly with all purpose flour.

14. Place a second piece of parchment on top of your dough and flatten the dough slightly with your hands.Then with a rolling pin roll out the dough. Work from the center of the dough rolling toward the edge.You want to apply enough pressure that the dough flattens into an even layer as you work but not so much pressure that you create a paper thin layer of dough.I like to roll out the dough to about a 1/4 inch or thicker.It does not have to be perfect!You will have a chance later in the process to make the dough more even if needed.

15. Once the dough is rolled out place it on a flat surface in the refrigerator keeping it between the two sheets of parchment .Be careful when moving your dough from the counter to the refrigerator.You will need to place one hand underneath the center of the Doug  or you can put the dough and sheets of parchment on a baking sheet and then place in the refrigerator..Repeat this process with the other half of the dough and place on top of your first half of rolled dough in the refrigerator. Chill the dough at least an hour or up to 24 hours.

16. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

17. Remove one sheet of now chilled dough from the refrigerator. Take a look at the dough and roll out a little more if it doesn't look even. Remove the top sheet of parchment and place on a baking sheet. Using whatever cookie cutter you want, cut out shapes.If the dough is chilled enough the shape should cut easily and move from the parchment to your baking sheet easily while maintaining its shape. If the dough sticks inside the cookie cutter just place the cookie cutter on the baking sheet and gently press the dough out.

18. Once your baking sheet is filled with cut dough place the baking sheet in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes.

19. Take the dough leftover from cutting the shapes and set aside and repeat the rolling and cutting process with your second chilled sheet of dough. Take the scrap dough from your second half of cut cookies and mix with the first leftovers and create one big ball of leftover dough. Taking the two remaining pieces of parchment, roll out the dough as you did in the first part and stick back in the refrigerator.

20. By the time your second half of dough is cut into shapes the cookies in the freezer should be ready to bake. You know the dough is ready to bake when it doesn't give to the touch.

21. Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes (your oven may take more/less time depending on your oven and how thick your cookies are). You're looking for a cookie that is just barely starting to get golden around the edges - not even brown just barely golden.

22. When the cookies are just begining to get the golden edge remove from the oven and place baking sheet on a rack to cool. Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes before transfering to a cooling rack. When the cookies are hot out of the oven they can be a little fragile so make sure to let them cool a little before transferring.

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