My mother always made sugar cookies around Christmas time, and I’ve tried several recipes over the years, easy to roll out recipes, lots of butter recipes, you name it. I’ve finally found my favorite and adapted it to my tastes, using almond and vanilla extract. These are not beginner cookies, the dough gets gets soft fast so you need to work quick, but if you get them down these melt in your mouth and are so tasty. Plus, the cream cheese icing is delicious and is so silky smooth that it looks good even if you are slathering it on with a butter knife. My preferred cookie method is to make the dough one day, chill it, then bake and decorate the next, because there is only so much time I want to spend in my kitchen in one day.
Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Icing
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp. sour cream
Beat butter with mixer until creamy. Add powdered sugar, egg, egg yolk, and extracts, beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter, and beat on low speed until combined. At the end, you may need to pat it together with your hands gently. Split dough in half and wrap both pieces in plastic wrap. Place in fridge, at least 2 hours. According to the USDA, sugar cookie dough can last in the fridge 2-4 days if properly wrapped in a plastic container. Food safety first!
Prep your pans by lining them with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness over a counter dusted with flour, and cut out in desired shapes. Lightly flouring your cutters, rolling pin, and spatula is helpful as well. Bake at 350 F for 8-9 minutes, turning the pan around at the 4 minute mark. As an aside, quickly turning your pan is recommended for most baked goods, as it ensures an even bake. Every oven has hot spots. Repeat until the dough is gone. Now, a lot of recipes will say only use scraps once, but I don’t like to waste food, so your call. This advice is given because rolling the dough many times will make it tough, but I’ve honestly never noticed. Santa won’t care, will he?
For the icing, beat the powdered sugar and butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat until smooth, then add sour cream. Spread icing over cookies. Growing up, my mother would make a simple icing of about a cup of powdered sugar with a few tablespoons of milk. I’m sure that would be delicious on these cookies as well, but the icing is really worth the extra effort, in my opinion.
The Dupery 