Sugar Cookies
- Level: Easy
- Yield: about 5 dozen cookies
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 60 servings
- Calories
- 60
- Total Fat
- 3
- Saturated Fat
- 2
- Carbohydrates
- 7
- Dietary Fiber
- 0
- Sugar
- 4
- Protein
- 1
- Cholesterol
- 11
- Sodium
- 12
- Total: 4 hr 15 min (includes chilling, cooling and resting times)
- Active: 1 hr
Ingredients
Cookies:
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more, for rolling, optional
Icing:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
About 1 tablespoon milk
Food coloring, optional
Sprinkles, candies and/or colored sugar, for decorating, optional
Directions
- For the cookies: Whisk together the vanilla and egg in a small bowl and set aside.
- Beat the butter with a handheld mixer in a large bowl until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, add the granulated sugar, confectioners' sugar and salt and continue beating until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl again if needed, then add the egg mixture and beat for about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer to low speed and add the flour in batches, mixing just until blended.
- Divide the dough in half and place each half between 2 pieces of waxed paper or lightly floured parchment. Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into disks about 1/4 inch thick. Slide the covered disks onto a flat cookie sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
- Position the oven racks with even space all around and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place 1 disk of the cookie dough on a clean work surface and peel off the top sheet of paper. Cut out cookies with a 1 1/2-inch round or decorative-shape cookie cutter directly on the parchment. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1-inch apart. Repeat with other disk of dough. Any excess dough can be re-rolled, refrigerated and cut.
- Bake until the edges of the cookies are light golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool.
- For the icing: In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar with just enough milk to make a thick icing. Tint the icing with food coloring if desired. Transfer the icing to a small plastic bag. Press the icing into a corner of the bag and snip off the corner with scissors to make a small opening. Gently squeeze the icing onto the cookies as desired. Top with sprinkles, candies or colored sugar if using. Set aside for about 1 hour to let the icing harden.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Cook’s Note
If desired, try one of these variations: Walnut-Orange: Add 3/4 teaspoon grated orange zest to the butter and 2/3 cup finely chopped walnuts to the flour. Pecan-Cinnamon: Mix 2/3 cup finely chopped pecans and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the flour. Sprinkle the tops of the unbaked cookies with a mixture of 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon. Almond: Reduce the vanilla extract to 1 teaspoon and add 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract. Add 3/4 cup chopped toasted sliced almonds to the flour. If desired, brush the top of each unbaked cookie with some egg white and press a few un-toasted almond slices on the top.