A cookie favorite
We had a couple of parties this summer. Back in June we had a Graduation/Going Away Party for my daughter who after graduating from the University of Washington was moving to Toronto. The other party was my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary in July. The common requested item for both parties was "my" sugar cookies. I make these cookies every Christmas and everyone thinks they are the BEST cookies ever.
My sugar cookies are made from a Martha Stewart sugar cookie recipe that I got years ago when I purchased a set of her oversized copper cookie cutters from Martha By Mail (used to love getting that catalog). The recipe above calls for just vanilla; however, my original recipe calls for vanilla or fresh lemon juice. I've never tried the fresh lemon juice but it might be a nice change.
Rolling dough of any kind frustrates me (pies, cookies, whatever) so a few years ago I started making the dough, shaping into rolls/logs, refrigerating the dough and then I just "slice and bake"... kind of like those tubes of cookie dough you can buy at the store. It's so much easier and a lot less frustrating for me. For one batch I make 2 rolls, each about 2 inches in diameter. I still bake them at 325 for 8-10 minutes. I let them cool completely before I frost them.
My frosting is just a basic butter cream type frosting that my mom always made. I take 1 stick of softened butter, 1 to 1-1/2 tsp of (real) vanilla extract and about 3 cups of powdered (or confectioners) sugar - mix well (I just use a fork). It will be kind of crumbly, then I add milk or cream until I get the desired consistency. If I'm using it on cookies I like it a little firm/stiff... if I'm frosting cupcakes I make it a lighter with additional milk.
If you do want to roll them out, this recipe makes a pretty strong cookie that you can use really large cookie cutters and the finished cookie holds up well. If you want to make them really pretty you can frost them with royal icing instead of butter cream type frosting; however, I like the taste of the butter type frosting over the royal icing. The easy way of making these cookies isn't as pretty as the roll out method... also the frosting with royal icing is a much more polished/professional looking cookie.
Rolling dough of any kind frustrates me (pies, cookies, whatever) so a few years ago I started making the dough, shaping into rolls/logs, refrigerating the dough and then I just "slice and bake"... kind of like those tubes of cookie dough you can buy at the store. It's so much easier and a lot less frustrating for me. For one batch I make 2 rolls, each about 2 inches in diameter. I still bake them at 325 for 8-10 minutes. I let them cool completely before I frost them.
My frosting is just a basic butter cream type frosting that my mom always made. I take 1 stick of softened butter, 1 to 1-1/2 tsp of (real) vanilla extract and about 3 cups of powdered (or confectioners) sugar - mix well (I just use a fork). It will be kind of crumbly, then I add milk or cream until I get the desired consistency. If I'm using it on cookies I like it a little firm/stiff... if I'm frosting cupcakes I make it a lighter with additional milk.
If you do want to roll them out, this recipe makes a pretty strong cookie that you can use really large cookie cutters and the finished cookie holds up well. If you want to make them really pretty you can frost them with royal icing instead of butter cream type frosting; however, I like the taste of the butter type frosting over the royal icing. The easy way of making these cookies isn't as pretty as the roll out method... also the frosting with royal icing is a much more polished/professional looking cookie.
Thanks for the tip about rolling the dough and then refridgerating. I too struggle with a rolling pin. I've printed out your recipe and will try it during the holiday season when I do most of my baking. They must be delicious if they are a "requested" item!
ReplyDeleteLisa@SuburbanRetreat
May have to make a batch... I've been missing these....
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