I love these sugar cookies. My mom got the recipe out of a school cookbook (the kind where everyone submits recipes) and she’s modified and perfected it over the years. These are thick and cake-like cookies (not the thin and crispy sort) and they have cinnamon in them – YUM!!! They roll out beautifully without any crazy long refrigeration of the dough. They are pretty much the perfect sugar cookie.
My mom tops them with a thin powdered sugar frosting and puts buckets of sprinkles on so they don’t stick together. These are VW bugs and they were a delicious (albeit unidentifiable) summer treat!!!
I have been so curious about all the beautiful cookies iced in Royal Icing that I HAD to try it….the results blew me away- prettier than ANY sugar cookie I’ve ever made- the process??? Yikes. I decided about halfway through that I’d rather dye my hair purple and work as a telemarketer than ever frost another cookie with royal icing.
Now that I’ve distanced myself from the pain of it I think I would try it again…maybe for a special occasion though. We’ll see.
In any case- this sugar cookie recipe is a treasure– frost them however you want!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 c. margarine
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 3 eggs
- 4 -5 c. flour
- 4 heaping teaspoons of sour cream
- 1 t. salt
- 1 t. baking soda
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1 t. cinnamon
DIRECTIONS:
- Cream together butter and sugar.
- Add eggs and sour cream.
- Mix dry ingredients (using only 4c. flour) together and add to wet ingredients, combining well.
- Add additional flour until dough is thick and only slightly sticky.
- Place dough on a well-floured countertop an knead into flour until not sticky at all.
- Roll out flat with a floured rolling pin.
- Cut out cookies and place on an un-greased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes (longer for larger cookies).
- Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.
- Frost 🙂
The royal icing I used:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb of powdered sugar
- 3 T. meringue powder
- 6 T. water
- 1t. vanilla (use clear if you want white frosting)
- Food coloring
Directions:
- Add all ingredients together and mix with a mixer for at least 2 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Color as desired.
- Frost cookies.
I read about 10 different blogs about HOW to frost cookies with royal icing….mine turned out ok- you basically outline the cookie with the thick frosting, thin the remaining frosting with water and flood the middle of your outline (easier said than done!) Just plan on spend a lot of time– it really is worth the effort though- the glossy hard finish is impressive!
EASYBAKED 