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–+ servings
Traditional Sugar Cookies

Traditional Sugar Cookies

Rebecca Huff
Just like you used to make as a child. These cookies are unbelievably delicious and worth every minute you spend in the kitchen.
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Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24

Equipment

  • Mixer

Ingredients
  

COOKIES

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks butter
  • 2 cups cane sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DECORATING ICING

  • 3 cups organic powdered sugar
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract really you can use whatever flavor you like - try maple sometimes!

Instructions
 

COOKIE INSTRUCTIONS

  • In a mixer, beat butter and sugar with mixer 2-3 minutes until fluffy.
  • Add in eggs and vanilla.
  • Sift remaining dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) together in a bowl.
  • Reduce speed to lowest setting and gradually add in flour mixture from step 3.
  • Divide dough in half.
  • Shape each half into a flat disc.
  • Wrap and refrigerate for an hour, minimum, or up to overnight.
  • Bring dough out of the fridge and let it soften about 5-10 minutes just until it's soft enough to roll.
  • Place dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to 1/4 inch thick.
  • Place rolled dough in the fridge to chill while you roll the second half.
  • Chill the second half while you cut out the first half.
  • Chill the cutout cookie shapes while you cut out the second half of dough, then chill those shapes!
  • Put the first set of cookie cutouts onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
  • Bake cookies 15-18 minutes until edges start to turn golden brown.*Tip, flatten cookies slightly right when they come out of the oven to make a flatter surface for decorating. Using gentle pressure and solid
  • Cool completely on wire racks before decorating.

ICING INSTRUCTIONS

  • Place egg whites in bowl of electric mixer.
  • Beat for one minute.
  • Add vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and cream of tartar, mix until smooth.
  • Thin icing to desired consistency with milk or water or thicken with more sifted powdered sugar.

Notes

The cookie dough may seem a bit crumbly but keep working with it, it works. It almost looks like kinetic sand, but it will come together beautifully when you roll it out.
If you want to decorate cookies with lots of different colors, double the icing recipe so you'll have plenty. Keep a little extra powdered sugar in case you need to thicken the icing. 
I know the instructions are overkill, but my youngest children like to make these cookies on their own and having the step-by-step chilling and rolling details written out like this helps them bake perfect cookies every single time!
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