Friday, March 2, 2012

Soft Sugar Cookies

I am so very late posting this recipe for soft sugar cookies as you can clearly see by the theme of the cookies I made.  But here is the thing.  This recipe will be just perfect for St. Patrick's Day shamrocks or Easter Egg cookies, right?? 

What a perfect cookie recipe this turned out to be.  The cookie dough is a cinch to put together and extremely easy to work with when rolling and cutting.  And the frosting is just a very simple buttercream that can be dyed in any color you want.  It makes a whole lot of cookies, 5 or 6 dozen depending on the size of the cookies.  I haven't tried it, but I imagine this recipe could be cut in half or you could probably freeze half the dough if you didn't want to bake them all at once. 

Their taste is superb and when I took them to work for Valentine's Day, they were gone in a matter of an hour. Seriously.  Keep this in your recipe repertoire if you need a good, basic sugar cookie for all occasions.

Soft Sugar Cookies

For the Cookies:

6 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups sour cream
For the Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons heavy cream
Food coloring, optional
Sprinkles, optional
Directions:
1. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.

3. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a little sticky and that is ok. Divide dough into two sections. Flatten into rectangles about 1½ inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or for at least two hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats; set aside.

5. Lightly flour the countertop and the top of the dough. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to ¼-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7 minutes, until cookies are slightly golden around the edges. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Cook cookies completely before frosting.

6. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla extract. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and the pinch of salt. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat at medium-high speed for a minute or two until light and fluffy. Add food coloring, if desired, and beat until combined.

7. Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles, if desired. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container.

1 comment:

Eva {Not your mama's dinner} said...

These cookies look great for any occasion indeed! Love the way you've pimped such simple cookies on such an elegant way!