Side note: I was never a fan of sugar cookies. They were always too sweet or too buttery/oily for my liking. After experimenting a little bit in the kitchen though, I finally worked out what I think is a winner of a recipe. Soft and light, these cookies have become one of my new favorites.
I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I do.
So here we go...
What you'll need:
*Note: I halved the recipe in the pictures, but am going to give you directions for a full batch*
3 3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. granulate sugar
2 t. vanilla extract
3 eggs
Decorating sugars (I chose to use red and white for the holiday)
Parchment paper
Time to make the dough.
How to make:
In a small bowl, whisk together your flour and salt.
Add the sugar and beat until fluffy.
Pour and mix in the vanilla.
This is often when the dough starts to smell delicious (or rather like a vanilla sugar cookie)... I wonder why!
Next, add in the eggs one at a time. Be sure to beat each egg in completely before adding another.
Now take your flour mixture and pour half of it into your wet mixture.
Mix until combined.
Add the remaining half and beat once more.
You should end up with a dough that resembles this:
After sneaking a pinch from the bowl to taste test, you'll need to split the dough in half and form two separate disks. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours (12 hours is ideal).
Chilling the dough is pretty important because it's quite temperamental and will stick like crazy if you skip this step. So go watch a movie, take a walk, do some cleaning, run some errands... anything to pass a few hours by.
Then, after a minimum of two hours, retrieve your dough.
Note: You'll want to set your oven to 350 degrees (F) and line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper right about now too.
Okay, back to your dough disk...
Time to whip out your rolling pin and get to work.
Make sure you flour your rolling pin and surface before you start.
Rolling on parchment paper instead of a floured surface works just as well - I actually prefer it.
You'll want to work your dough until it's spread to about a quarter-inch thickness.
And now comes the fun part. Cookie-cutter time!
For these, I used a heart shaped cookie cutter (it is Valentine's Day after all!), but any type does the trick.
Punch out your cookies until you're dough is finished. You will most likely need to re-roll the dough at least once to use it all up.
Place each cookie on your lined cookie sheet(s) at least an inch or two apart.
And then go to town with your sprinkling and decorating...
Once satisfied with your sprinkle work, pop them in the oven.
They'll need to bake for about 15 minutes. They'll start to crack slightly on the surface when they're done. WARNING: your kitchen will smell unbelievable at this time.
Once fully baked, take them out and place them on a cooling rack.
Pick out the "ugly duckling" of the bunch and get rid of it by biting, chewing, and swallowing. Pat yourself on the back for saving your Valentine from receiving the dud of the group. Good job!
These cookies cool pretty quickly so once they're of room temperature, you can package and pretty them up for your recipient(s).
I chose to wrap them in cellophane goodie bags, tied simply with a white grosgrain bow.
You're Valentine is sure to love them. And he/she will appreciate your gift even more knowing that you baked it especially for him/her.
Happy (almost) Valentine's Day!
xo Belle
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