Sugar Cookies; Make Them A Family Favorite

Sugar cookies have been in family cookie jars for years and years. They are simple in taste and they are easy to make as well. You can make sugar cookies in several different ways. Sugar cookies can be rolled into balls and flattened on the cookie sheet. They can have sprinkles of colored sugar. They can be spread with colored frosting and decorated with other things like chocolate chips. It does not matter how you present them to your family and friends as they will love them any way you make them.

The sugar cookie has been around for quite some time. It is most often related to the Pennsylvania Dutch who immigrated to America and started to make their favorite cookie flavored with sugar. It caught on and soon the recipe was being shared all through the United States. It was so popular that in 2001 in became the state cookie for Pennsylvania.

There were sugar cookies before the Dutch were making them. Bakers in the seventh century would test the temperature of their ovens by making small cakes made of sugar that would not matter if they burned or not. If they did not burn the oven was at the right temperature. It was not right to throw this cake away so they sold them as small sugar cakes. In France they were referred to as gimblettes and the Italian’s sold cimbellines.

On variety of sugar cookie is fluffy and light and they become quite tall while in the oven baking. There is a bit of crunch to the edge but the middles are soft and sweet. Another variety is made where the cookie is a little harder and crisp. Both are wonderfully sweet and tasty.

Many times sugar cookies are rolled out and cut with cookie cutters in to shapes. They are made for just about any holiday. On Valentine’s day they can be made into hearts. For Easter they can be cut out as bunnies or eggs. Halloween can be exemplified by sugar cookie pumpkins. Make turkey shaped cookies for Thanksgiving. Christmas sugar cookies can be in all kinds of shapes from Santa Claus to the Christmas stocking.

The following Soft Sugar Cookie recipe is made with confectioners’ sugar instead of granulated sugar. They come out soft and fluffy. Do not try to use cookie cutters with this recipe because the cookie is to soft to make them that way.

Turn your oven on to 350 degrees F. With an electric mixer cream 1 half pound of butter that has been softened and add 1 cup powdered sugar slowly. Include 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring mixing it in well. In a separate bowl mix 2 cups of flour and 1 half teaspoon baking soda. Combine and gradually add to the egg mixture. Take a teaspoonful of dough and roll it into a 1 inch ball. Place on a cookie sheet that has been greased 2 inches apart. Using the tines of a fork press each ball down so it flattens. Leave in the oven for 6 minutes then let the cookies stay on the sheets for 5 more minutes. Take them off the sheet and place them on a rack to cool. If you desire you can sprinkle the top of the cookies with a little granulated sugar before baking.

The following recipe is one that you roll and can cut into shapes and decorate. In a large bowl sift one and one half cups flour with 2 teaspoons baking powder and one half teaspoon salt and set the bowl aside. In a mixing bowl cream 1 cup butter then gradually start to add one and one half cup granulated sugar. Beat until fluffy. Break two eggs in a small bowl and beat. Add these to the butter mixture along with one tablespoon milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla flavoring. Gradually add one and one half more cups of flour to the mixture. The dough should be smooth and not stiff so if it seems that there is enough flour and you have not added the whole one and a half cups do not worry. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in wax paper and place in the refrigerator for one hour. Roll out to about one fourth of an inch thick and cut out with cookie cutters. Sprinkle with a little granulated sugar or leave them plain to be frosted with colored icing later. Place on cookie sheets that have been sprayed with a nonstick spray and bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 10 minutes making sure the edges do not get too brown. Let them sit for a few minutes and transfer onto a cooling rack.

Make sugar cookies a treat for your family. They will love finding them in the cookie jar. You can make them for holidays in different holiday shapes or enjoy them any time.

You can make sugar cookies that will look beautiful and taste fabulous! Visit our site and find Sugar Cookie Recipes from all over the world!