RECIPE FOR THE BEST CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIES YOU WILL EVER EAT

I love cut out cookies and I love sugar cookies, but they are a little time consuming to make. I think the result is worth the effort. I make them for all the holidays and other times throughout the year. The response from people eating them is usually very good and I think the extra effort is appreciated. This is a recipe that I have being working with for a long time, they are delicious. I hope you enjoy them also.

1 cup butter (yes you can use margarine but I think the butter tastes better in these)

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond extract

2-3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cream of tartar

food color(optional)

Mix all ingredients well, if you want a nice colored dough, add some food coloring at this point and you will need to refrigerate for about 2 hours. I put the dough in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. This is a tricky area and can lead to frustration in making the cookies. If you don't refrigerate enough it will be too soft and hard to roll out, if you refrigerate too long, you have to let it sit out for a while. I have found that 2 hours seems to be just right.

To prepare your surface for rolling I suggest a nice flat surface, a cutting board will work, your kitchen table top works, if you have a Tupperware or other plastic cutting sheet, this works great. I make sure the surface is secure, weight down the plastic or anchor the cutting board. I use a mixture of 1 part powdered sugar and 2 parts flour, mix it together and spread out generously on the prepared surface. Take a small amount of the chilled dough and making sure to cover both sides with the powdered sugar mixture and cover a rolling pin, begin to roll out the dough from the center and work each side out until you have a nice flat dough about 1/4 inch thick, more if you like a thicker cookie. The dough may stick to the rolling pin or surface so make sure you are generous with the flour/powdered sugar mixture. After dough is rolled out, begin cutting with your favorite shapes. You can decorate them with sprinkles or colored sugars now or leave them plain to frost later.

Place on ungreased baking sheets and bake at 350 for 5-8 minutes depending on how thick you cut them. They are done when they are just slightly golden brown on the bottom. If you decorated with sugar they are ready to go, if not you can frost them when they cool. Continue with all of the dough.

Frosting

This is a quick butter cream I like to use

2 cups powdered sugar

3 TBSP. cream or milk or water

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

Using a mixer, get it to a nice creamy texture, food coloring can be added if you like.

 There are so many different shapes for cookies now. I have a set of alphabet and numbers so I can make cookies and spell out greetings or names. There is every type of animal you can imagine along with trees, flowers, shapes and something for every holiday season. The list is endless. You can have a blast! I have found that for my guests and friends I give them too that they are easier to eat then a cupcake and less messy. Have fun with it and good luck.