Since I have not made sugar cookies before, this meant I did not have a sugar cookie recipe, so I consulted Allrecipes.com, like I almost always do when I'm looking for a recipe. I was able to find one which didn't need to be chilled in the fridge for hours, which was nice because I wanted something that was simple, easy and quick. I was able to find that in a recipe entitled "Easy Sugar Cookies" which had a 4 and a half star rating with over 3000 reviews, so I figured it was a good one!
After checking to make sure I had everything I needed and read a few reviews, I got to work mixing the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients, separately of course!
And then combining the two!
Since the recipe didn't call for the dough to be chilled, it meant it wasn't really a rolling out and cutting shaped cookies, which was alright because I only wanted to make round cookies. One of the reviews told me that the cookies only needed to be a teaspoon in size as they expand a lot, I did not find that they really expanded that much. I have made cookies before where they have expanded right into each other and the sides of the pan, even though I spaced them out, this time it was not really the case...
Another thing I was not sure about was what they should look like when they come out of the oven. I thought that they would be golden brown on top, which did not really happen, although I could see that they were brown around the edges. Because of this, I may have overcooked them, as they are a little bit on the hard side. Oh well!
After they cooked, I wanted to put icing on them, so once again I consulted Allrecipes.com and found a recipe entitled "Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe" with 4 and half stars and over 2000 reviews. Again, I figured it was probably a good one.
I had to reduce the recipe in half, as I did not have enough icing sugar (I have been doing this a lot lately, running out of ingredients I think I have a lot of but only realize when I got to cook...I need a better inventory system). It was pretty quick to mix up and I dyed it green to give it a bit of colour, plus it's St. Patty's Day. :)
Once it was mixed up, I used my basting brush to paint all the cookies, which turned out pretty well and I almost had enough icing to do them all!
They turned out pretty good. The icing has a good flavour to it and hardens up nicely and the cookies, well they are a bit hard, but other than that they also taste good! Now John will have a nice treat when he comes back from Atlanta on Wednesday!
Easy Sugar Cookies
(Originally from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-sugar-cookies/)
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir
together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat
in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded
teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand
on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks. (I ended up keeping them in for like 12 minutes, I would say that is too long)
Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe
(Originally from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sugar-Cookie-Icing/Detail.aspx)
Ingredients:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring
Directions:
In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until
smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy.
If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup. (I added a bit of extra milk, 1/2 tsp at a time until it was the consistency I wanted).
Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired
intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.
