Susan Strahms Sugar Cookies Recipes

OLD SCHOOL SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a big bowl, combine the butter, sugar, lemon zest, salt and vanilla and mix until smooth and fluffy. Stir in the baking powder, taking care to mix well. Add the eggs and egg yolk and stir well. Add the flours and gently stir until a smooth ball forms. Wrap the dough in plastic and put in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet (or sheets) with parchment paper (no cooking spray).
• On a floured surface, roll out tennis ball-size pieces of dough to about 1/4 inch thick and cut out the shapes you want. Lay them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 1/4 inch between each cookie.
• Bake for 8 minutes, or until lightly golden. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack, then decorate them however you like with Royal Icing and your favorite sprinkles.
• Using a stand mixer and the whisk attachment, whip most of the powdered sugar with most of the other ingredients. Whip for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the royal icing holds its shape and is bright white (not translucent). If it is too soft, add more powdered sugar. If it is too stiff, add a bit more liquid, drop by drop. If you are using only one color, add a few drops of the color at this point and keep whipping until you have the shade you want; otherwise, proceed to the next step.
• To store royal icing, the ideal way is to scrape it out of the bowl and into a plastic, disposable piping bag, then leave it at room temperature. Don't cut the bag until you're ready to use the royal icing, and don't overfill the bag--you want enough room to tie the back of the bag off to keep the royal icing airtight. If any air comes into contact with the royal icing, it gets hard and that part of the icing is useless. Never attempt to mix the hard bits back into the royal icing--you'll ruin the whole batch. The other accepted method of storing royal icing is to scrape it into a plastic or ceramic bowl, and cover it with a wet paper towel. This method works, but it wastes both paper towels and royal icing. It's also just annoying. When you're piping small designs, you want to use very small parchment piping bags. It's easy to stick the nose of a large piping bag into a smaller one and extract exactly how much you'll need. When the icing is in a bowl, you have to use a spoon to get it out. The spoon is difficult to get into a piping bag, and you'll keep using spoons and wasting royal icing. Get with the times people. Do it right and don't waste food.

SUSAN STRAHM'S SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream first 5 ingredients together.
• Sift the last 4 ingredients together, then mix with the rest.
• Chill dough.
• Roll out 1/2" thick & cut.
• Bake at 375 for 8 - 10 minutes, just till barely brown. Don't overcook.

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.

SUSAN BRANCH'S BUTTER COOKIES - THE BEST (REALLY)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• With an electric mixer (even the hand-held kind), cream together the butter and the sugar.
• Add egg yolks and vanilla and mix well.
• Sift flour and salt together, shaking back and forth in a fine sieve.
• Beat into the butter mixture until well-mixed.
• When ready to bake, use an ungreased cookie sheet and place the cookies 1 inch apart.
• Bake for about 10 minutes and DO NOT BROWN THEM.
• Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet while still warm and cool on sheets of waxed paper.
• Decorate if you like:.
• Shape dough into a roll the width of a cookie.
• Wrap in waved paper and chill.
• Before baking, roll in chocolate shots.
• Slice 1/2 inch thick and bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350° for 10 minutes. Do Not Brown.

SUPER SOFT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
• Mix in eggs and vanilla until combined.
• Add salt, baking powder and flour and mix until well incorporated.
• Cover dough bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Roll cookies into 1-inch balls and flatten with the bottom of a drinking glass until 1/4-inch thick.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly golden brown on the bottom.
• Let cool completely.
• In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, beat together powdered sugar and butter until creamy. Mix in vanilla and milk until smooth.
• Frost cooled cookies with frosting and top with sprinkles, if desired.

MRS. FIELDS SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl combine the flour and salt with a wire whisk. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until well blended. Scrape down sides of bowl, then add the flour mixture. Blend on low speed just until combined. Do not overmix.
• Gather dough into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap or a plastic bag. Refrigerate one hour until firm.
• On a floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thickness. With cookie cutters, cut dough into desired shapes and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Decorate with colored sugars or sprinkles. Bake for 13-15 minutes, being careful not to brown. Immediately transfer cookies with a spatula to a cool, flat surface.

SANDY'S SUPER SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Sift flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
• Beat butter and white sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; beat in vanilla extract. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture on low speed until dough is just-combined.
• Divide dough into 4 portions; refrigerate 3 portions. Roll remaining portion out on a lightly-floured work surface to 1/4-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut dough into desired shapes and transfer cookies to prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until slightly golden at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat rolling, cutting, and baking process with remaining dough portions.

SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and baking soda; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Shape into 1-in. balls. Roll in additional sugar. Place on greased baking sheets; flatten with a glass. Bake until set, 10-12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

BASIC SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until well combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
• Add flour mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. Scrape the bowl and fold a few times to make sure everything is well combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, flatten into a disk, and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough 1/4-inch thick. Use 3-inch floured cutters to cut out cookies, and transfer to two parchment- or silicone mat-lined baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart. Reroll scraps as needed, chilling as needed until firm before rolling and cutting again. Freeze until very firm, about 10 minutes.
• Bake until golden brown at the edges, 12 to 14 minutes.
• Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or frozen up to 3 months.

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Make the cookie dough: In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and cream cheese with an electric hand mixer on high speed for about 5 minutes, until fluffy and the sugar is mostly dissolved. Scrape down the bowl as needed to evenly beat the mixture.
• Add the egg, egg yolks, vanilla, and almond extract and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
• Add the salt, then sift the flour, baking powder, and cream of tartar into the bowl and fold to incorporate some of the flour. Then beat on low speed, just until incorporated and the dough comes together.
• Shape the dough into a flat disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to 3-4 days.
• When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften slightly.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the cookie dough with a rolling pin to ¼-inch (6mm) thick.
• Dip cookie cutters of your choice in some extra flour and cut out shapes from the dough. Gather any excess dough into a ball and chill in the fridge to firm, then re-roll and cut out more cookies. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet and chill for at least 20 minutes to ensure they hold their shapes.
• Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges just barely start to turn golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before decorating with royal icing or frosting.
• To make the royal icing, sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl and add the salt. On one side of the bowl, add the vanilla and egg whites.
• Where you added the liquids, begin whisking the powdered sugar into the liquids, gathering a bit more as you whisk to prevent lumps from forming, until all of the powdered sugar is incorporated. Add food coloring, if desired, and whisk to incorporate. You can divide the icing into smaller bowls to make more than one color. At this point, the icing should be a good consistency for piping borders. If you'd like the frosting to be looser to flood or dip your cookies, add a few tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.
• Decorate the cookies as desired.
• Enjoy!