I’m well renowned and reviled for my glazed sugar cookies. This is what happens when you invent a great recipe and then have your friends blaming you for the weight they’re putting on because they can’t put the cookies down. I have several standing orders that when I bake a batch, they expect to get some. So, I make that huge batch every month, cutting them into shapes and decorating them for various holidays or just for the heck of it.
I originally had started experimenting with different recipes, and none of them worked out for us. The recipes included ingredients I didn’t have in the house. They were too sticky to roll out, it didn’t matter how much flour I used or if I froze the dough. They were too sweet, not sweet enough. They were too hard, or they were too soft and puffed up while baking — losing their shape.
Fed up, I scrapped all the recipes and invented my own. This recipe doesn’t call for ingredients you’ve never heard of. The dough is easy to roll and retains its cutter shape, but it’s still soft and chewy. So, the next time it’s up to you to bring cookies, I suggest these. But be wary. You make them at your own risk because I can guarantee you’ll be renowned and reviled just like me.
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 ½ cup butter (room temperature)
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 tsp. milk
- 2 tsp. butter
- ¼ tsp. salt
- Food coloring & colored sugar
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt with a whisk. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer — medium speed.
- Add the eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice, beating until blended. Add the flour mixture and blend on low until just combined. Don’t over mix.
- Gather dough into a ball and then flatten into a disk. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap or put in a plastic storage bag. Refrigerate for one hour or freeze for a half hour.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C)
- On a floured surface (use lots of flour — on your hands, the roller, and the counter) roll out dough between 1/4″ and 1/8″ thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters and place on ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake for 10 minutes, be careful to not let them brown, and immediately transfer cookies to a cool, flat surface.
- Melt the butter and add rest of ingredients. Mix until creamy.
- Separate into separate bowls and use the food coloring to dye different colors for decoration.
- Sprinkle with colored sugar
