Monika's Sugar Cookies

So I love to make sugar cookies for every holiday.  And you should be very excited I'm sharing my secrets with this recipe...because I like to think I'm famous for my sugar cookies.  (I'm probably not, but you know, it keeps me going.)  So here's the goods, hopefully dummy proof:

Ingredients:

3 cubes butter, unsalted (if using salted, cut salt to 1 1/2 tsp.)

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond extract (this is what makes them good!)

5 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheate oven to 400 degrees. (8-10 minute bake time)

Cream room temperature butter and sugar together in a large mixer.  Add eggs and flavorings, beat again.  Add baking powder, salt, and most of the flour, mixing slowly until all flour is incorporated.  Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.  (You may want to separate into two sections if it's too large to roll.)  Here's the tricky part, the more you handle your dough, the harder and yuckier your cookies will be, so less is more here.  You want to make sure you have enough flour underneath your dough that it doesn't stick to the surface, and you want to roll it out only 3 or 4 times.  So that being said, the thing that makes my cookies great is I roll them fairly thick - about 1/3", and I never bake them longer than 8-9 minutes.  If they still look like they're not done at 9 minutes, take them out anyway!  If you get them too thick, they really won't be done, so don't go thicker than I've said.  If they're brown at all, you've ruined them!  :)  That's my opinion anyway.

Let the cookies cool on a wire rack or paper towels while you whip of the frosting.  They should be completely cool before you frost or the frosting will run.

Frosting:

1 cube butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 lb. powdered sugar (3 1/2 cups)

1/4 cup milk

food coloring of choice

Directions:

Cream together butter, flavorings and sugar.  Add milk and beat until smooth (thick, but not stiff - you want it spreadable).  Add your desired colorings at this point.  (Make sure to separate the frosting into different bowls for all the different colors you want to use.)  The trick to making edible art here is to spread the frosting with back and forth, swirling motions, don't just swipe it on the cookie.  Hold the cookie in your hand, scoop some frosting up on an icing spatula (you want the frosting to stay on the end tip) and make swirling motions to spread it around.  If you're adding sprinkles or decorations, place while the frosting is still wet.  Allow to cookies to air dry and either wrap for giving or store in an airtight container. 

Note: Unfrosted cookies freeze very well for about 2 months - just layer in between parchment and freeze in airtight container.  And, this is the best tool for icing anything: