Sugar cookies have been a favorite of children and adults for years. The simplicity of taste and ease of making them enables them to be made even by those who are not expert cooks. Sugar cookies are also very versatile. They can be made round or in different shapes. They can be sprinkled with plain or colored sugar. They can be decorated with colored icings and decorated with chocolate chips and candied fruits. No matter how you serve them everyone will want more.
Sugar cookies have been made for quite a long time. The modern recipe was invented by immigrants coming from the Dutch lands to America and eventually called Pennsylvania Dutch. The recipe was very popular and soon it was known all over the world. Pennsylvania adopted the cookie as the state cookie in 2001.
Of course the sugar cookie was around a long time before the Dutch came to Pennsylvania but in a different form. It used to be that a baker would put a small cake in the oven to test the temperature and in the seventh century this was happening. It was a shame to let these little sugar cakes go in the trash so someone got the idea to sell them. French called them gimblettes and the Italians called them cimbellines.
Some sugar cookies are light and airy and raise quite high while cooking. The edges are a little bit crunchy but they are generally soft. Other recipes are a little more dense and the cookie is very crisp. It just depends on your taste and how you like them.
The crisp variety can be rolled flat and cookie cutters can be used to make a variety of shapes. These are the kind you see during holidays. There are heart cookies made during Valentine's Day. Bunny and egg shaped cookies are made for Easter. You will normally see pumpkin cookies around Halloween and cookies that look like turkeys for Thanksgiving. At Christmas there is the most variety from Santa's face to Christmas trees and stockings.
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.
First turn the oven on to 350 degrees F. In a bowl with an electric mixer mix 1 half pound of butter that has been softened. Gradually add one whole cup of confectioners' sugar. Continue by adding 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and combine well. Combine 2 cups of flour and one half of a teaspoon of baking soda in another bowl. Mix together and gradually add to egg mixture. Take a teaspoon and scoop out some dough rolling it into a 1 inch ball. Grease a cookie sheet and place balls at least 2 inches apart then using the tines of a fork press the cookie flat. Bake 6 minutes or until brown then take out of the oven and let the cookies harden up for about five minutes. Remove to a rack to cool. If you like you can shake a little granulated sugar on the surface before you put them in the oven. This recipe will make about five dozen round cookies.
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.
Sugar cookies are good any time of the year, not just during the holiday. Whip up a batch for your family and watch as they gobble them up as fast as you can make them.
Sugar cookies have been made for quite a long time. The modern recipe was invented by immigrants coming from the Dutch lands to America and eventually called Pennsylvania Dutch. The recipe was very popular and soon it was known all over the world. Pennsylvania adopted the cookie as the state cookie in 2001.
Of course the sugar cookie was around a long time before the Dutch came to Pennsylvania but in a different form. It used to be that a baker would put a small cake in the oven to test the temperature and in the seventh century this was happening. It was a shame to let these little sugar cakes go in the trash so someone got the idea to sell them. French called them gimblettes and the Italians called them cimbellines.
Some sugar cookies are light and airy and raise quite high while cooking. The edges are a little bit crunchy but they are generally soft. Other recipes are a little more dense and the cookie is very crisp. It just depends on your taste and how you like them.
The crisp variety can be rolled flat and cookie cutters can be used to make a variety of shapes. These are the kind you see during holidays. There are heart cookies made during Valentine's Day. Bunny and egg shaped cookies are made for Easter. You will normally see pumpkin cookies around Halloween and cookies that look like turkeys for Thanksgiving. At Christmas there is the most variety from Santa's face to Christmas trees and stockings.
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.
First turn the oven on to 350 degrees F. In a bowl with an electric mixer mix 1 half pound of butter that has been softened. Gradually add one whole cup of confectioners' sugar. Continue by adding 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and combine well. Combine 2 cups of flour and one half of a teaspoon of baking soda in another bowl. Mix together and gradually add to egg mixture. Take a teaspoon and scoop out some dough rolling it into a 1 inch ball. Grease a cookie sheet and place balls at least 2 inches apart then using the tines of a fork press the cookie flat. Bake 6 minutes or until brown then take out of the oven and let the cookies harden up for about five minutes. Remove to a rack to cool. If you like you can shake a little granulated sugar on the surface before you put them in the oven. This recipe will make about five dozen round cookies.
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.
Sugar cookies are good any time of the year, not just during the holiday. Whip up a batch for your family and watch as they gobble them up as fast as you can make them.
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