These simple Sugar Cookies are sweet and buttery with a subtle vanilla flavor. They're great for decorating with your favorite sprinkles.
Ingredients
For the Sugar Cookie Dough:
7.5ouncesall-purpose flour, by weight(1.5 cups measured)
1/2tspbaking powder
1/4tspsalt
1/2cupunsalted butterat room temperature (68-72F)
3/4cupgranulated sugar
1largeegg
1tspvanilla extract
For the Frosting:
1/2cupbutterat room temperature (salted is preferred, add 1/8 tsp salt if using unsalted)
3/4cupconfectioner's sugar*
1tbspmilk
1tspvanilla extract
sprinklesfor decorating
Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for one minute, using a hand mixer on medium speed, until combined and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract until incorporated, about 30 more seconds.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix on low until a crumbly dough forms. Take care not to overmix.
Dump the dough out onto the counter or onto a piece of parchment, and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough out 1/4" thick. You can use flour as needed for sticking, but use as little as possible. Use a cutter to cut whatever shapes you desire, whether it be circles, stars, or Christmas shapes. Re-roll and the cut scraps as well. Or, you can simply cut the dough into squares with a knife and not have any scraps.
Place the cut cookies on a flat pan and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, until firm. This will keep the cookies from spreading in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and if you have one, I recommend using an air bake pan to minimize browning.
Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, which is about the time that the cookies should *just* lose their sheen on top. They shouldn't be golden brown on the edges yet. You want to keep them soft.
Let the cookies cool, ideally moving them off the pan by pulling the sheet of parchment off, or better yet, moving them to a wire rack once they've set enough to move safely. Then make the frosting.
In a medium bowl, whip together the butter, confectioner's sugar, milk, and vanilla, for about 1 minute on medium speed with a hand mixer, until fluffy and light.
Frost all the cooled cookies with the buttercream. You should have enough that you can generously frost every cookie, and I usually have a tablespoon or two leftover.
Sprinkle the frosted cookies with sprinkles, as desired. Then enjoy!
Notes
Sugar cookie recipe is the same as my Easy Fruit Pizza. That Fruit Pizza has a cream cheese marshmallow frosting that's delicious with the dough, that you can also try.Yield: I got 24 cookies using a 2.5" diameter circle cutter. This was with re-rolling the scraps.*Add more confectioner's sugar if you'd like it sweeter. It's more or less "to taste" here.