Favorite Sugar Cookies

This recipe was adapted from Sweetapolita.

Ingredients  (Always weigh the flour and sugar!)

• 6 cups (750 g) all-purpose flour, sifted  
• 1 teaspoon (8 g) salt
• 2 cups (454 g)(4 sticks) salted butter, softened for about 20 minutes at room temperature (or microwaved VERY carefully)
• 2 cups (400 g) sugar
• 2 large eggs, cold
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) pure lemon extract

Half Batch (~25 cookies)

• 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, sifted  
• 1/2 teaspoon (4 g) salt
• 1 cup (227 g)(2 sticks) salted butter, softened for about 20 minutes at room temperature (or microwaved VERY carefully)
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 1 large egg, cold
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoons almond extract
• 1/8 teaspoon (.875 mL) pure lemon extract

Instructions
1) Measure all of your ingredients.  As you can see in the picture below, I was mistakenly using lemon juice instead of lemon extract.

2) Get things organized and make enough room in both your fridge and freezer for a cookie sheet.  Note the board that will be used to move the dough from fridge to freezer to counter top.  It is easiest if you have two.  They can be cutting boards or cookie sheets that you won't need for baking.  Also note the 1/4 inch square dowels.  They are available at craft stores and are the secret to getting an even thickness.

3) In large bowl, sift together flour and salt. Set aside.

4) In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy and pale, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs.

5) Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Blend in vanilla, almond extract, and lemon extract.

6) Turn the dough out on to the counter top and mix in any flour that was at the bottom of the bowl.

7) Divide the dough in half and work with one half at a time.  Slightly dampen your counter top then put down a piece of parchment.  This will prevent the parchment from sliding.  Pat down the dough into a rectangular shape on the parchment.  Lay the square dowels on each side.  Cover with another sheet of parchment.

8) Roll the dough with your rolling pin until it is flush with the dowels. 

9) Slide the dough, still between the parchment sheets, onto one of your boards and put it in the fridge for 45 minutes.

10) Remove the dough from the fridge and slide it off the board and onto the counter top.  Remove the top piece of parchment.  Cut your cookies and place at least an inch apart on a parchment lined cookie tray.

11) If you want to make cookies on sticks, like these roses, Lay them on the cookie sheet like this so that you can fit more on one tray.

12) Place the cookie tray in freezer for 15 minutes.  Preheat your oven to 325° F during this time.

13) After 15 minutes in the freezer, put them directly in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are just starting to turn golden brown.  The more golden brown, the crisper the cookie.  I have found most people like them less crisp so I take them out at the first sign of golden around the edges.

14) Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes, then gently remove cookies and place on wire racks to finish cooling.

Tips

Tip 1) It is important to only have one tray in the oven at a time.  This slows down the process, especially when this recipe makes about 50-60 cookies, but you can always make 1/2 the recipe if you are short on time.

Tip 2) When you fill a tray with cookies and there is uncut dough left, just put it back in the fridge to keep it firm.

Tip 3) As the dough warms up to room temperature you will see rough edges and the dough doesn't pull away from the cutter cleanly.  Smooth the edges with your finger, and use a corsage pin to clean up tight corners like in this picture.  Then pop the dough back in the fridge until it is firm enough to cut cleanly.

Tip 4) Since you will be needing a timer for the oven and for the freezer, it is best to have two timers.  I usually label them.  If the cookies are taking about 17 minutes to cook, sometimes I can cut a set of cookies and pop them in the freezer while another tray is cooking.  Then I only need one timer.

Tip 5) It may seem like a lot of work but this process gives you all the details from a nice cutter like on this moon cookie,  

and help you avoid disasters like this teddy bear.