Heidesand My Famous Sugar Cookies Recipes

MARY'S SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; blend into the creamed mixture. Cover and chill for at least two hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the dough into two parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of the dough out to 3/16 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets. Sprinkle cookies with plain or colored granulated sugar.
• Bake for 8 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

HEIDESAND (MY FAMOUS SUGAR COOKIES)

Steps:

• Cream butter or margarine and the sugars in a large bowl til fluffy.
• Add egg and vanilla to butter/sugar mixture and blend well.
• In another bowl combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
• Stir flour mixture into butter/sugar mixture til all is incorporated.
• Form dough into 1-inch balls (refrigerate for a few hours first if too soft to handle).
• Roll balls of dough in sugar (either regular granulated sugar or colored sugar as you prefer), place on an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until very lightly brown.

DARIA'S BEST-EVER SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat almond paste and egg yolks until crumbly. Add butter, sugar and salt; beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour and mix well. Divide into four portions; shape each into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1-2 hours or until easy to handle., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough., Bake 6-8 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, beat confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and water until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Color frosting if desired. Frost cookies; decorate with coarse sugar and sprinkles if desired. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container.