My favourite sugar cookie cut out recipe…
When I was growing up we used to have these little animal cookie cutters and Christmas cookie cutters that I faithfully made sugar cookie cut outs regularly from with my mom. Now that I’m a mom and Theodore is getting older I really enjoy making sugar cookies with him on special occasions (usually Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and Halloween).
I finally found a recipe that holds its shape well while still maintaining the perfect texture. Courtesy of Martha Stewart, here it is:
INGREDIENTS
4 cups all purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
2 t. pure vanilla extract.
Lemon zest to taste
STEPS
- Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
- 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 and a little bit of lemon zest to taste. Divid dough in half; flatten each half into a disc. Wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 325 F, 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 o a lightly floured work surface to just under 1/4 inch thick, adding more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. Cut out cookies with a 4 to 5 inch cookie cutter, transferring shapes to parchment paper-lined baking sheets as your work. Roll ou the scarps, and repeat. Repeat with remaining disk of dough. Chill cookies in freezer until very firm, about 15 minutes.
- Bake, switching positions of sheets and rotating halfway through until edges turn golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. When ready – ice!
I haven’t perfected an icing recipe yet but when I do I will definitely share! I hope you enjoy these cookies and more importantly, enjoy the time with your little ones making them :).
