If you have visions of sugar cookies dancing in your head, make them real — with these helpful tips. There are a number of steps to sugar cookies, so it’s a great project to get your family or friends involved. Take this cookie to a party to share, for a cookie exchange, give a bag for a gift, or serve a few with a cup of coffee. Delicious!
The basic steps for a sugar cookie:
- Make the dough
- Chill the dough
- Roll and/or Cut the dough
- Bake
- Frost
- Eat, Gift, or Freeze!
Sugar Cookie Secrets for the Most Delicious Cookies Ever:
- Roll the dough in powdered sugar instead of flour. It makes them crispy instead of tough, but it also makes them a little sticky, so make sure your hands are dry when handling the uncooked cookies. Also, bake on a Silpat sheet or parchment paper so that they don’t stick to the pan.
- Roll the dough thin for crispy cookies, thicker for chewy. Thin cookies need more care when moving from cutting to the baking tray and when decorating, so use cutter shapes with less detail (save detailed cookie cutters for thicker dough).
- Be patient and allow the baked cookies to cool completely before frosting. Frost cookies on parchment or waxed paper for easy clean-up of frosting and sprinkles.
- Frosting is easy to make ahead and keeps well in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Sugar cookies keep 3-5 days in an airtight container and freeze well if layered between sheets of waxed paper.
Mrs. Reese’s Sugar Cookies from The Junior League Centennial Cookbook
I’ve made these cookies for years, and these always get rave reviews. My favorite way to prepare them is to roll a thin dough in powdered sugar, and cut it out in stars of various shapes. I serve them frosted and unfrosted. A cellophane bag of small sugar cookie stars is always a well-received gift.
For roll-and-cut-out-cookies, prepare the dough a day ahead.
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
- 8 tablespoons margarine (I use Crisco shortening instead)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Combine the butter, margarine (or shortening), and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy (at least 5 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla. Beat well. Put the flour, baking powder, and salt into a sifter and sift into the butter mixture. Beat well. These can be rolled out, used with a cookie press, or dropped and garnished with a nut on top. If rolled out, put the dough in the refrigerator overnight. Take out a little at a time, and roll on a pastry cloth. If used with a cookie press or dropped, do not put in the refrigerator. Bake at 350 to 375 degrees until light brown, about 10 minutes. Decorate as desired. Makes about 75 cookies.
Creamy Decorator’s Frosting from Betty Crocker’s Christmas Cookbook
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (or almond extract)
- 1-2 tablespoons half-and-half
Beat powdered sugar, vanilla (or almond), and half-and-half until smooth and of spreading consistency (add more half and half if needed). Tint frosting with food color, if desired. Makes enough for 3 to 5 dozen cookies.
Have fun filling your cookie jar!
