Oh my gosh you guys, two words: SUGAR. COOKIE.
What's not to love? Two of my favorite things smushed in to one delicious snack (or is a cookie a dessert? Who can tell anymore...)!
Why BIG sugar cookies? Well, only a select few "in the know" folks will have an answer to THAT question :-)
I had been threatening to learn to make decorated cookies for the LONGEST time and I finally decided to do it, sugar cookies were SO much easier than I thought they would be. I had all of the ingredients in my kitchen already, and there was literally nothing particularly difficult about them. It was just your typical, make a day ahead cookie dough, then roll, cut, bake and decorate!
Big Sugar Cookie Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Chill time: 24 hrs
Bake time: 7 minutes
Source: http://www.iheartnaptime.net/soft-sugar-cookies/
Ingredients
Cookies
1 cup margarine or butter, at room temp1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp lemon or almond extract
5 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Frosting
5 tbsp. of butter2 tbsp. milk
2 cups powdered sugar
food color or flavorings as desired
Directions:
- Cream room temp butter and sugar together until fluffy, add other wet ingredients, mix to combine. In a separate bowl whisk remaining dry ingredients together, then combine with wet. Stir until JUST mixed. Separate into two disks and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Roll out dough onto a powder sugar-ed work surface. Use powdered sugar the same as you would flour to keep the dough from sticking. Cut out your cookies into whatever shapes you'd like and place them on baking trays.
- Bake for 7-10 minutes or until done, set aside to cool on wire racks.
- While cookies are cooling, grab two ketchup bottles (you know those cheap squeezy bottles with the pointy top, like this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007OM9W2E)
- Also grab two microwave safe bowls, melt 3 tbsp. and 2 tbsp. in separate bowls. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 tbsp. of mix to both. Stir. The one with 3 tbsp. of butter should be very liquidy, if its not then add milk. The one with 2 tbsp. of butter should be very stiff, if its not add powdered sugar.
- Add food coloring as desired and put frosting into condiment bottles.
- Use the stiffer frosting to edge the cookies, then flood the middle with the liquid frosting.
- Allow frosting to set for 5-10 minutes, the add words as desired with stiffer frosting.