cutouts

Easiest Cut-out Sugar Cookies

I hope everyone had an amazing Easter! We sure did here in Chicagoland because it was 75 degrees and sunny! So beautiful. Spring has arrived, people are getting vaccinated for Covid-19, let’s get this show on the road! The show being life as we know and love it.

I made these sugar cookies for Easter and I’m so happy I found the perfect recipe! They are so easy and equally delicious, this is my new go-to cut-out. Some may say you do not need to chill the dough before rolling it out, but I say 30 minutes is key. Me and a room temperature dough do not get along. So, here we go… put on those aprons and let’s get started 🙂

What you will need:

Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
Cookie cutters in desired shapes

1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling)

In a bowl (I used my hand mixer), cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in extract and egg until combined. Add in baking powder and salt and beat until combined. I know! Different than your typical recipe. Last, slowly beat in flour 1 cup at a time until dough forms.

Seperate the dough into 2 discs and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. No more, no less.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly flour your work surface. Take out 1 disc of dough and roll to desired thickness. Thinner for a crispy cookie, thicker for a soft cookie.

Place cookies on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Store covered at room temp or in the fridge. Enjoy!

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Happy Father’s Day to all the awesome dads out there! I went to visit my dad during the week and brought his favorite dessert- sugar cookies! I always want to try different recipes so I made a half batch of chocolate sugar cookies as well. The recipe below is for a full batch, but can easily be halved. The recipe for the glaze is also in this post. Here we go!

What you will need:

Cookie sheet
Rolling pin
Cookie cutters
Parchment paper and wax paper

For the dough:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze:

2 cups sifted powdered sugar
4 teaspoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon milk
Food coloring (optional)

To make the cookie dough:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

In another large bowl (or bowl of your electric mixer), beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.

Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Place dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least one hour or overnight.

Once dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Take out one half of the chilled dough and place on floured parchment paper. Lightly flour top of dough and then place a piece of wax paper on top. Like so:

Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out desired shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters and transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Tip: To prevent cookies from losing their shape while baking, place cookie sheet in refrigerator for 10 minutes. Then, bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy plain or frost with glaze once completely cooled.

To make the glaze:

Stir together the powdered sugar, corn syrup and milk. Depending on the consistency you want, you may need to add more milk, teaspoon by teaspoon. Then stir in food coloring if using. Dip tops of cookies in glaze and let excess drip off. Place cookies on wax paper until glaze dries. Usually takes an hour or 2. Yum!