Sugar Cookies!

 Who doesn't love Sugar Cookies??? This is my all time favorite plain Sugar Cookie recipe (I have one for vanilla sugar cookies but I don't make them often). I have been asked so many times for this recipe so I am just going to put it up. It's from Once Upon a Tart..., by Frank Mentesana, Jerome Audureau, and Carolynn Carreno.

Sugar Cookies:

20 Tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter                       Bake 350 F
2 cups sugar                                                           Yield: 4 dozen 2 1/2" cookies
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1. Cream butter and sugar together in a big bowl, using the whisk attachment of an electric mixer on high speed (or sturdy wire whisk), until they are fluffy and lemon yellow, about five minutes. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla.

2. In a separate, medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add these dry ingredients to the wet with mixer on low speed (or a wooden spoon) until the dough forms a ball. The dough will be a bit sticky, but it should clean itself off the sides of the bowl once all the flour is incorporated. If the dough is too wet and sticky to form a ball, add a tiny bit more flour. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and chill 1-2 hours before rolling it out (I always skip this step because I find it makes the dough hard to work with).

3. When you are ready to make your cookies, position your oven racks so that one is in the center, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or use those flexible, no stick baking sheets. I can't remember what they're called!).

4. Use a kitchen counter or cutting board (or I use a roul'pat)--and dust it with a generous amount of flour (unless you're using the roul'pat). Cut the ball of dough into quarters. Starting with one chunk, roll it into a ball and set it in the center of your work area. Dust your rolling pin with flour,    
and set it on top of the dough. Gently press on the pun and begin rolling
out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Dust more flour on the dough, rolling pin,
or board whenever things get too sticky.

5. The goal when cutting dough with your cookie cutters is to get the most

cookies out of each sheet of rolled out dough. So cut your cookies as close to one another as you can, like pieces of a puzzle.

6. Gently lift the dough onto your prepared baking sheet with a metal spatula. Arrange same-size cookies on the same baking sheet, so that they require the same amount of baking time (so that some don't burn while others are under-cooked). Leave a one inch space between the cookies.

7. Place the baking sheet on the center rack in the oven, and bake the cookies till the edges are a very light -golden-brown. For small cookies (2-3"), bake 10-12 minutes. TIP: you only want the edges golden-brown. As the cookies cool, they will crisp up. If you over bake till the whole cookie is golden-brown, they will be too hard to eat.

8. After a few moments cooling on the baking sheet, remove the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

I always stack already cool ones to the side so I don't run out of room.

Royal Icing:


2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 pound confectioner's or powdered sugar

1. Beat the egg whites and the sugar, using the whisk attachment  
of an electric mixer on low speed so the sugar doesn't fly around.
Once the sugar is moistened by the egg whites, turn the mixer up
 to high speed and continues beating for another 7-10 minutes,
until the icing is thick and shiny.

2. Divide the icing among separate ramekins or small bowls, and use food coloring to mix your own palette of colors.                  

3. Pretend you're Picasso.

I always use a pastry brush to put on my icing. It looks very professional and neat and is sooo much easier than a knife.

         This batch I only did sailboats and butterflies.

P.S. If you like cooking, check out jenniinthekitchen.blogspot.com