Sugar Cookie Recipe

*Special Supplies:

*7 pastry bags with tips I used Wiltons 18, 21 and 32 (Star like Tips)

Ingredients:

*
*1/2 cup Butter

*1 cup Sugar

*1 teaspoon Vanilla

*1 Egg

*1/2 cup Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream, Sour Cream or Cream Cheese (I’ve used each one of these variation each gives the cookie a slightly different taste and they’re all yummy!) Note: If you use cream cheese use only 3 cups of flour

*3 and 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour, more if needed (Dough should be slightly sticky)

*1 teaspoon Soda

*1/2 teaspoon Salt

*Forest Cookie Cutters, you can find them on Amazon 

*The number of cookies this recipe makes will depend on the size of cookie cutters you use.

Directions:

*
In a stand mixer on medium-low speed cream together the butter and sugar. Then add the vanilla, egg and cream of your choice and mix just until combined.

*
Using Sifter, sift together in a bowl the flour soda and salt and slowly add to the creamed mixture, mixing on low just until barely combined. Dough should be slightly sticky. Do Not Over Mix!

*
Then divide the dough into 3 dough balls, flatten dough balls making disk shapes. Now wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or more.

*
Remove 1 dough disk at a time from the refrigerator and rollout disk on a floured surface with rolling-pin or use 2 pieces of plastic wrap, placing the dough disk in the center of 1 of the pieces of plastic wrap and the second piece on top of the dough disk, use rolling-pin and roll out the cookie dough about 1/2 inch thick.

*
Use a cookie cutter of your choice and cut out shapes in the rolled out dough. Repeat for each dough disk. Then add to the next dough disk the scraps from the first disk or (discard scraps of dough), continue this technic until all the dough is used.
Place cookies on a Silpat covered half baking sheet, 12 cookies per sheet.  For best results refrigerate the cut cookies on baking sheet before baking 5-10 minutes.

*
Bake the cookies in a pre-heated 425* F. oven for 8-12 minutes or barely starting to turn golden on the bottom; baking time depends on the size of cookie cutter used. Do Not Over Bake! If you do over bake they will become too hard. Cool on baking sheet.

Recipe from Tested Recipes Cookbook, Central Milling Company third edition, now out of print an old family cookbook

Frosting

1/4 cup Cream Cheese (2 ounces)

2 and 1/4 sticks butter, almost room temperature

6 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

Pinch of sea salt or to taste

Food Gel Colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple

Directions:

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment beat the butter and cream cheese 2 to 3 minutes until a light yellow color on medium speed.

Then gradually add powdered sugar alternate with whipping cream, mixing in on medium low speed.

Add vanilla and salt, taste and adjust as needed to your taste. Beat frosting another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer and stir for a minute to remove air bubbles. Divide the frosting into 7 bowls leave one bowl white and add the food coloring drop at a time adding a different color to each bowl, until desired color is achieved.

*Add each color of frosting, one at a time to separate pastry bags fit with a small pastry tips and a little larger tip for the White Cloud Frosting. Start with the purple frosting and as shown in picture. Pipe straight down for each dot of frosting. Keep the pressure evenly to get the same size dots. Repeat for each row of color.

Enjoy,

Lindy