Sugar Cookie Cutouts
| Prep Time: 120 min | Serves: 72 |
| Cooking Time: 15 min | Yield: 72 cookies |
Sugar cookies are a buttery classic with a nice crunch. They are delicious on their own, but they also make ideal holiday cookies when festively decorated with royal icing. Try customizing the dough to your own taste with an addition such as finely grated lemon lest, a bit of brandy, or a hint of cinnamon.
Ingredients
- 4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Butter, Unsalted
- 2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 Egg, Large
- 2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Directions
1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
2. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Divide dough into quarters; flatten each quarter into a disk. Wrap each in plastic.
3. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Let one disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Roll out dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove top layer of plastic wrap. Cut out cookies with a 4-to-5-inch cookie cutter. Transfer cookie dough on plastic wrap to a baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to freezer, and freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet from freezer, and transfer shapes to baking sheets lined with nonstick baking mats. Roll out scraps, and repeat. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.
5. Bake, switching positions of sheets and rotating halfway through, until edges turn golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
From The Martha Stewart Show, December 2008