Rolled Sugar Cookies

[Updated 2010-12-05]

This is just a recipe for the cookie. I will post the royal icing frosting in a separate blog entry. I wanted to make cookies for Christmas so I found this awesome recipe on Allrecipes.com. The original makes 60 so I cut it in half to make less since I was trying it out. It was a perfect soft and tender cookie. I highly recommend this recipe!

The picture is of the naked cookies...pre-frosting!

Yields approx. 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight). Tip: Chilling dough is extremely important. If dough is not adequately, the cookies will not keep their shapes and will flatten.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven until cookies are slightly golden at the edges. Cool completely.