Our Favorite Sugar Cookies

It may seem like I am blogging a lot this week, and that is because I am!

I sat down last night and typed up a couple more posts and scheduled them to post later this week. We are going on 5 days of being house-bound from the snow (except for Derrick, he's been going to work). We are turning into hermits and loving it. It's so nice NOT having to go anywhere because everything has been cancelled from the storm.

I like that Dallin is home from school and can spend time with us. It's been great. We've done a lot of crafts and made Valentines. We've also been baking, working on the basement, cleaning the house top to bottom, and while the kids watch movies....I've had a few extra minutes to blog :)

So enjoy the abundance of posts. It won't last much longer.

Every family has a favorite sugar cookie recipe. This is ours. I found it online 4 years ago and haven't used another one since.

Roll Out Cookies

1 c. butter, softened ***

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

2 3/4 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 400°F. In mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Mix flour and baking powder; add to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition.

Do not chill dough. (I LOVE this part!)

On a floured surface, roll out dough 1/4 in. thick. Dip cookie cutter in flour before each use. Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet 6-7 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.

Makes 3 dozen

Adapted from Wilton's Roll Out Cookies

***original recipe calls for unsalted butter. I only buy regular butter. If using unsalted, add 1 tsp. of salt to the recipe. There is no need for salt if using regular butter.***

The boys love helping with these. They get better each time we make them. Dallin cut out most of the shapes by himself this time.

They both enjoyed dipping them into the frosting. I handed Aaron a wet wipe to wash his hands and he said, "We can just lick the frosting off" Um, yeah ok.

(Luckily I made a few before handing the over the boys for Aaron's little Valentine's party on Thursday...cootie-free).

To make a frosting glaze, just warm the frosting tub in the microwave for 30-40 seconds. Stir and pour into a wider container for dipping.
Dip them face side down, let excess drip off and lay on a baking rack. They'll harden back up again and are so smooth and perfect....and a lot easier for the kids to frost than frosting with a butter knife, which we have done until this year. I found the idea here.

Add sprinkles. At least 3 varieties for each cookie as the boys demonstrated.

We make these all the time, no holiday necessary. I love that Dallin chose dinosaurs for Valentine's day, classic.