Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe

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Ingredients:

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*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

*Pumpkin Cookie Cutter, the number of cookies this recipe makes will depend on the size of cookie cutter you use

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 to hard. Cool on baking sheet.

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

Chocolate Candy Melt Coating

*1 Packages 10 to 12 ounce Candy Melts. We used Wilton Orange but you could use any color (make bats, witches hats, black cats and etc… Note: You may need another package depending on amount of cookies dipped and the size.

*3 and 1/2 tablespoons of Vegetable Oil, I like to use 2 tablespoons Extra Light Olive Oil and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons Vegetable. This adds a smooth and easy dipping consistency

*Halloween colored Nonpareils, we used Ghouls’ Night Out by Festival, for decorating.

Melt the candy melts and oil in the microwave on low heat in a shallow microwave safe bowl (In a bowl that about 2 inches bigger than the cookies you are dipping, this is for easy dipping) , 30 second increments, stirring between each increment until almost all disks have melted and then stir-stir-stir until smooth.

Dip each cookie face down into the melted dipping chocolate. Let excess drip off. Then with dipped side of cookie facing up shake cookie until coating is smooth and flat. Dip about 8 cookies, then sprinkle on the nonpareils and allow them to set on a Silpat or parchment paper or cooling rack etc…

Then when completely set enjoy or store in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.

Enjoy!

Lindy