“The classic American Sugar Cookie Recipe, perfect for cookie cutting”

• 3 cups (390 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the eggs and vanilla extract 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. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.

Preheat oven to 177°C and place rack in centre of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 cm. (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.) Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking.

Bake cookies for about 8-10 minutes (depending on size) or until the edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Note : If you are not going to frost the baked cookies, you may want to sprinkle the unbaked cookies with crystal or sparkling sugar.

Source : Adapted from joyofbaking.com

Servings/Yield : Makes about 36 – 4 inch (10 cm) cookies.

Rating : 4 out of 5

Difficulty : Easy

Course : Desserts

Tags: cookie, cutter, family, kids, recipe, sugar