黑料福利社

For years I steered away from sugar cookies because I was frustrated the cute little cutouts of trees and candy canes I popped in the oven would come out looking like bloated little blobs. Nothing like attempting a fun holiday activity with your kids to be reminded that baking is much more a science than an art.

So, I put sugar cookies on the back burner and had lots of fun making other (more successful) recipes. It helps that both my sister-in-laws make fantastic sugar cookies, so my kids had the opportunity to decorate cookies and I was off the hook.

But when I set out to do this little mini series of holiday classic recipes, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work figuring out how to make an easy (and beautiful) sugar cookie. I wish I could take credit for creating this recipe all on my own, but this particular cookie recipe is adapted heavily from several recipes I found online.

What I love about this particular cookie recipe is the dough does not need to be chilled. I鈥檓 always looking for simple ways to streamline fussy recipes I stumble across. Most sugar cookie recipes need time in the fridge for the dough to firm up, which helps the cookies keep their shape in the oven. Because of the high flour to butter ratio (they are slightly shortbread like), the cookies do a beautiful job of holding their shapes, even without being chilled.

Usually, sugar cookies are decorated with royal icing, but I wanted a bit of decadence with my cookie, so I whipped up a cream cheese frosting. This frosting is almost buttercream, with just a touch of cream cheese so it stays pretty light and perfectly sweet but I think it makes all the difference in the recipe. I handed my kids a couple jars of sprinkles and they gamely decorated the cookies with loads of sprinkles. These cookies are a new favorite, sure to be added to the cookie boxes in future holidays.

Classic Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing

Recipe makes roughly 24 cookies

鈥� 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (12.5 ounces, strongly suggest weighing your flour if you have a kitchen scale)

鈥� 1 cup granulated sugar

鈥� 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

鈥� 1 cup salted butter, softened and cut into cubes

鈥� 1 large egg

鈥� 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

鈥� 1 tablespoon lemon zest

鈥� 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

鈥� 1 batch cream cheese icing

鈥� Holiday sprinkles

Cream Cheese Icing

鈥� 4 cups powdered sugar

鈥� 1/4 cup softened salted butter

鈥� 2 tablespoons whipped cream cheese

鈥� 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

鈥� 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

鈥� 1-2 tablespoons milk, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Add flour, sugar and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low for about 30 seconds to combine the dry ingredients.

Add the butter and beat on low to incorporate. Gradually increase speed to medium-high as the butter breaks up, then beat until a mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add the egg, vanilla, almond extract and lemon zest. Beat on medium-high until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. If you have a strong mixer, the dough may come together on its own, if not, dump the crumb-like mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper and gently press and knead it into a disc.

Place another piece of parchment over the dough and use a roller to roll the dough until its about 1/4 inch in thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the dough and transfer to the prepared baking sheets.

Bake in the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookie start to turn a light golden brown and the center of the cookie looks less shiny. For larger cookies, the cooking time will be a little higher, just watch them closely. Work in batches until all the cookies are baked.

While the cookies bake, combine the butter and whipped cream cheese in a bowl. Using a hand mixer combine the ingredients until smooth. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix again. Add the powdered sugar to the bowl and starting on low speed, mix until a frosting forms. If the frosting is quite thick, add a tablespoon of milk to help thin it.

There are two easy methods to use for frosting cookies. Use a butter knife to spread the frosting on the cookie and then decorate with holiday sprinkles.

Your other option is to slightly thin the frosting with an additional tablespoon of milk. Dip cookies one at a time into the frosting, by holding onto the edges and just dipping the surface. Let excess icing drip back into the bowl before quickly flipping the cookie and placing it on the counter/tray. Decorate with sprinkles and continue until all the cookies are frosted and decorated.