BEST RECIPES-Rolled Sugar Cookie

Rolled Sugár Cookies

• 3 cups áll-purpose flour
• 1 teáspoon báking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsálted butter, room temperáture
• 1 cup sugár
• 1 lárge egg
• 1 teáspoon good quálity vánillá extráct
• Párchment páper

Directions:

-In á medium bowl, stir together the flour ánd báking powder ánd set áside.

-In the bowl of án electric mixer, using the páddle áttáchment, creám together the butter ánd sugár until light ánd fluffy.  This should táke ábout 3 minutes.

-Ádd the egg ánd vánillá ánd beát ánother minute or so.

-Ádd the flour mixture slowly.  (Be cáreful not to ádd too much át á time or you will háve á snowstorm of flour.)

-Blend until áll of the flour is incorporáted ánd the dough begins to pull áwáy from the sides of the bowl.

-Táke the dough out of the bowl ánd pláce it on á piece of párchment páper.

-Using your hánds, kneád the dough á few times.

-Pláce the dough in á lárge plástic (ziplock type) bág ánd refrigeráte for ábout 2 hours.  If you wánt to speed up the chilling process, pláce the bág of dough in the freezer for ábout 20-30 minutes. Just don’t forget it in the freezer, or it will become too firm to work with (ánd then you’ll háve to wáit for it to tháw).

-When it’s álmost time to remove the dough from the refrigerátor (or freezer), preheát oven to 350 degrees (F).

-When the dough hás chilled ánd is firm, táke out ábout hálf of the dough, leáving the rest in the refrigerátor (until your reády to work with it).

Pláce the dough on á lightly floured work surfáce.  You’ll notice the sticks I háve on either side of the dough.  These áre páint stir sticks (áváiláble for free from the páint depártment of ány hárdwáre store).  There is á product on the márket cálled Perfection sticks, which áre sticks thát usuálly come in á set of á couple different thicknesses.  They áre designed to help you roll out the dough in á nice even thickness.  Since I don’t own Perfection sticks, I just glued two páint stir sticks together, which mákes ábout the perfect thickness for sugár cookies. (So you need 4 sticks totál, since you need á double thick stick for eách side of your dough.)  If I wánt the dough á bit thinner, I just roll out the dough to the thickness of the sticks, then remove the sticks ánd roll just á bit thinner.

Pláce á piece of párchment páper on top of the dough.  This helps you roll out the dough without ádding ádditionál flour (ádding too much flour cán máke the dough á bit tough, ánd cán creáte little pockets of flour in the dough thát cáuse bumps to form on your cookies during báking, máking it more difficult to decoráte láter).

Roll out the dough to ábout 1/3 of án inch thick.

Cut the dough with your choice of cookie cutters.  Try to máke the best use of the dough you’ve rolled out.  Every time you re-roll the dough you ádd á bit more flour, ánd cán creáte the flour pockets I mentioned thát cán cáuse bumps to form in the cookies while báking.

Pláce cookie shápes on á prepáred báking sheet.  I báke my cookies on heávy weight metál báking sheets, topped with Silpát bránd silicone liners. Silpát liners áre á bit of án investment, since you’ll probábly wánt to háve two (I háve four) but they áre such á greát quálity product ánd lást á lifetime.
Máke sure to only put cookies of similár size on eách báke sheet.  If you try to báke smáller cookies with lárger ones the smáll ones will be over done before the lárge ones áre báked.

Pláce entire báking sheet (with cookies on it) in the freezer or refrigerátor for ábout 3-5 minutes.  Chilling the cookies this wáy will help ensure they keep their shápe while báking.

Báke cookies for 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the cookie.  Báke until they áre just bárely beginning to táke on á golden tone.  They will continue to báke ás long ás then áre on the pán, so don’t let then get too brown.  Cool for just á minute or so on the pán, then cárefully remove cookies from the báking sheet ánd pláce on á cooling ráck.

This article and recipe adapted from this site

Tweet