Smiling Sugar Cookies Recipes

SMILING SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Roll dough into 1-1/2-in. balls; insert a wooden pop stick in the center of each., Place 2 in. apart on lightly greased baking sheets; flatten slightly. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool., Divide frosting among three bowls; tint as desired. Place each color of frosting in a resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag. Pipe hair and mouths onto cookies; use a dab of frosting to attach small candies for eyes. Let dry at least 30 minutes.

AMAZING SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a small bowl.
• Beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth; stir in egg and vanilla extract. Gradually blend flour mixture into butter mixture. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls and toss in 1/4 cup sugar; place 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden, 8 to 9 minutes. Let stand on cookie sheet 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool.

SMASHED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat the granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs, then continue to mix until incorporated (it's ok if the mixture looks slightly curdled). Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Reduce the mixer to medium low, then slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
• Divide the dough into 18 portions (about 2 1/2 tablespoons each), then roll between the palms of your hands into uniform balls; place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pour the sprinkles into a shallow bowl or baking dish. Roll the dough balls in the sprinkles until completely coated, then return to the baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm and chilled through, about 1 hour.
• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line one additional baking sheet with parchment.
• Place 9 chilled dough balls on each prepared baking sheet. Using a 1/3-cup measuring cup, smash the dough balls down until the edges are starting to crack and they are 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide (leave about 1/2 inch of space between each smashed cookie). If the dough starts to stick to the bottom of the measuring cup, dust with a little flour and continue smashing.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the cookies puff slightly, the centers are still soft and the bottoms are just golden brown, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Once the cookies have cooled, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and milk in a small bowl until smooth and combined (it should be thick but pourable). Transfer to a small piping bag or resealable bag, snip the tip and drizzle over the cookies. Alternatively, use a spoon to drizzle over the cookies. Return to the wire rack to set completely, about 30 minutes. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

SMOOTH SAILING SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle. , On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with cookie cutters of your choice. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 5-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. , In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, extract, salt and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Add food coloring if desired. Frost cookies; decorate as desired.

3-INGREDIENT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat softened butter and granulated sugar with spoon until well mixed. Stir in flour until moistened, using hands to mix if needed (dough will be crumbly). Knead 5 to 10 times or until dough is smooth.
• Divide dough in half; shape each half into a log, 5 inches long by 2 inches in diameter.
• Spread 2 tablespoons of the nonpareils or decorating sugar on plastic wrap; roll one log in nonpareils to cover. Repeat to cover remaining cookie log in nonpareils. Wrap dough logs tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate about 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Unwrap 1 of the dough logs; cut into 1/2-inch slices. On ungreased cookie sheet, place slices 2 inches apart, reshaping if necessary.
• Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are set. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Unwrap remaining dough log, and repeat slicing and baking. Cool completely, about 40 minutes.
• To make Powdered Sugar Icing Drizzle: In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons of the milk until well blended. If too thick to drizzle, add additional milk, 1/4 teaspoon at a time. Tint with food color. Drizzle over tops of cooled cookies. Sprinkle with nonpareils or decorating sugar. Let stand about 1 hour or until drizzle is set.