Sugar Cookies

3 cups (1 lb) All Pupose Flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract

Parchment Paper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Put 3 cups flour in a separate bowl with the 1tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt, and whisk by hand for 30 seconds to blend.

Cream the butter in your electric mixing bowl then add the 1 c. sugar and 1 tsp vanilla, mix until  light and fluffy.  Add the egg and blend.  Add the flour mixture gradually and blend — dough will be stiff.

Take the dough out of the bowl and knead with your hands 1 minute.  You can roll the dough now or if you think it is too soft, put in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 10 min.  I like to work with about 1/4 of the dough at a time.

Roll the cookie dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper.  Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness (thicker if you are making cookies on a stick). Cut your cookies while still on the parchment paper — do not try to lift the cookies off yet.  Place the parchment paper with cookies onto a baking sheet and refrigerate or put into the freezer for maybe 5 minutes.  This step will allow you to pull away the excess dough.  The cookies will now hold their shape when you are transferring them to bake.  Bake 8 – 10 minutes, checking at the 8 minute time.  Take out when just beginning to brown around the edges.  Let cool a short while in the pan.

The cookies can be frozen and the recipe can be doubled

This recipe makes 2/1/2 dozen 3 inch cookies

* The cookies can be placed close together because they spread very little.

*Updated 12/17: Every now and then we get a request for an a sugar cookie video tutorial that we made years ago and later removed. I’m posting it here for anyone who’d like to see this recipe in action — and the very basics of sugar cookie decorating ;0) –

alternate video format: