Great Grams Sugar Cookies Recipes

GRAM OPAL'S SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 baking sheets.
• Sift flour, baking soda, and 1/8 teaspoon salt together in a bowl.
• Beat 1 cup butter, white sugar, and egg in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add flour mixture, vanilla extract, and lemon extract to butter mixture; stir until dough is well blended. Roll cookie dough into walnut-size balls and place 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Press each ball down with the bottom of a glass to flatten slightly.
• Bake in the preheated oven until baked through, 6 to 7 minutes. Cool.
• Stir confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, hot water, and vanilla together in a bowl until sugar is completely dissolved and icing is smooth. Spread icing on cooled cookies and top each cookie with a pecan.

GREAT GRAM'S SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients, except egg white, ground cinnamon and 2 T white sugar, in a large bowl until soft dough is formed.
• Roll out on floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters. Paint cookies with egg white and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, or colored sugars.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes on greased cookie sheets.

SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
• In another bowl cream the sugar, vanilla and almond essence with the butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until combined.
• At a lower speed add the flour mixture a little bit at a time. Mix until combined and the dough starts to come together. Take the dough out of the bowl, shape into a ball, cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 °F / 175 °C.
• Line a baking sheet or cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• On a floured work surface roll out the dough to 0,2 inch (0,5 cm) thick and cut into shapes.
• Transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until the cookies start to turn brown around the edges.

SPICED SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE

Steps:

• To make the cookies, first combine the flour, salt, baking powder, ground ginger and cinnamon. Whisk until incorporated, and set aside. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined. Next, add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Don't worry if the mixture clumps slightly, it will come together when you add the dry ingredients.
• Gradually add in the flour mixture and switch to a rubber spatula if necessary. The mixture will be thick and may be a little sticky. Scoop the cookie dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, covering it well. Shape the dough into a small disk. This ensures that a skin does not form on the dough, and it remains smooth.
• Chill the dough for at least two hours or overnight, or until it is firm to the touch. The longer the dough chills, the more pronounced the spice flavors will be. When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 180 C or 350 F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. If the dough has been chilling for several hours, leave it for around 10 minutes to soften slightly, as it will be quite firm.
• Dust a work surface and the dough with flour and roll to a ½ cm or ¼ inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut the dough as you like. Fear not if you don't have cookie cutters: you can do several things. You could roll the dough into a log instead of a disk when refrigerating, then slice the log into ½ cm or ¼ inch slices. You could also roll the dough into 1 tablespoon sized balls, roll the balls in granulated sugar, then place onto the cookie sheet and press down to form a disk. Alternatively, you can use the rim of a glass to cut out shapes. Gather the scraps, then roll out the cookie dough again, adding a touch more flour when necessary to prevent sticking.
• Place the cut-outs onto the parchment-lined baking tray and bake the cookies for 11-13 minutes, or until the edges are a light golden brown (11 minutes will give you a slightly softer cookie, 13 minutes will give you a slightly crunchier cookie). Let the cookies cool for several minutes on the tray, then transfer them to a wire rack and let them completely before icing.
• To make the icing, use a wooden spoon to combine the butter and confectioners' sugar as best you can. It will be relatively dry. At this stage, add the vanilla, followed by the milk or water a little at a time, until you obtain your desired consistency. If the icing ends up being too thin, add some more sugar. If it's too thick, add more milk. If you'd like, you can color the icing with your food coloring of choice.
• Spread the icing onto the cookies, using a butter knife or using a piping bag with the end snipped off just slightly, and top with sprinkles. Wait until the icing has hardened (this takes around an hour, or less if refrigerated) before stacking or serving. The icing makes enough for the cookies specified in the recipe, but if you'd like to have multiple colors, you might like to double the icing recipe so that there is enough per color.
• Storing: These cookies last for around a week once frosted, and slightly longer unfrosted. The dough, unbaked, freezes well too!