These soft sugar cookies are buttery, mildly sweet and the best thing about them is that
Seriously, we've all picked up a roll of sugar cookie dough from the grocery store, rolled it out and cut out shapes with our favorite cookie cutters, only to end up with a cookie sheet full of overgrown, unrecognizably shaped cookies. So disappointing! Not only do these hold their shape, but they will taste better than any sugar cookie dough you will find in the refrigerator section of your grocery store. This recipe is my grandmother's recipe and is a holiday family favorite.
TO MAKE THE DOUGH:
First, make soured milk. Combine 1 cup of whole milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon and set aside. Adding lemon to milk curdles the milk and creates a similar effect that buttermilk would in a recipe.
Next, in a stand mixer or Bosch mixer, cream together 1 1/2 cups of butter and 2 cups of sugar. Cream the mixture on high speed for about 5 minutes. Once the mixture is fluffy and creamed well, add 3 large eggs and 1 tsp of vanilla. Cream for another minute.
Next, Add 3 cups of flour (the recipe calls for 5-7 cups, just add 3 for now). Add 1/2 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of baking powder, and 1 tsp of salt. Mix until just combined.
Then add the soured milk mixture.
At this point your dough will be very soft and look like this:
Now that the dough is to this point, we begin adding the remainder of the flour. The recipe calls for 5-7 cups. That is a pretty broad range for baking. The reason for this is that many variables can cause a dough to need less or more flour. For instance, I bake at high altitude, so my doughs always need about 1/2 cup more flour than someone at sea level would need. Also, flour has its own water content and every bag will be a bit different. If your flour has a high water content, it will take on less liquid from your dough, resulting in a wetter dough, therefore requiring you to add more flour. If your flour has a low water content, it will take on more liquid from your dough, causing a drier dough and therefore requiring you to use less flour. So, when adding flour it's best to pay the most attention to the texture of your dough. This dough needs to be stiff and hold together well so we can roll it out and cut shapes that don't fall apart when they are picked up and transferred to a cookie sheet.
Adding 1 cup at a time and then mixing, add flour until you can easily roll a ball without dough sticking to your hand.
My dough needed all 7 cups of flour.
Now you are ready to roll out the dough and cut out the shapes. This is a large batch of cookies, so I like to divide my dough and roll out about 1/4 of the batch at a time. A thick, woven kitchen towel dusted with flour will make rolling out your dough easy. It also makes for an easy clean up. Just rinse the towel out in your sink with cold water and then toss it in your washing machine with your next load of laundry. Shape about 1/4 of the dough into a large ball and dust the dough with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll dough out to a thickness of 1/4 inch.
Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out the shapes. The closer you can nest your cookie cutters the better. You will have less scrap dough around each shape and will get more out of your dough each time you roll it out.
Look how beautifully they hold their shape!
Once the cookies are out of the oven, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
TO MAKE THE FROSTING
In a medium sized mixing bowl combine 6 cups of powdered sugar with 1/4 cup milk (or water) and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Using a hand mixer, mix until well combined. Then add 1/2 cup softened butter and a few shakes of table salt from a salt shaker.
Mix until smooth. Your frosting should be soft, but not runny. If it's too runny, add another few tablespoons of powdered sugar until it is the right consistency for frosting the cookies.
You can also add food coloring if you like. I left my frosting white and opted for sprinkles.
Decorating sugar cookies in a great family activity! My niece and nephews decorated a few with me. I always like seeing their liberal use of sprinkles and their creativity.
Now go bake!
SUGAR COOKIES
2 Cups Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Butter, softened
1 Tsp Vanilla
3 Large Eggs
1 Cup Whole Milk
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
5-7 Cups All-Purpose Flour (divided)
First, make soured milk by combining 1 cup of whole milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon and set aside. Next, in a stand mixer or Bosch mixer, cream together 1 1/2 cups of butter and 2 cups of sugar. You want to cream the mixture on high speed for about 5 minutes. Once the mixture is fluffy and creamed well, add 3 large eggs and 1 tsp of vanilla. Cream for another minute. Next, Add 3 cups flour (the recipe calls for 5-7 cups, just add 3 for now). Add 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt. Mix until just combined and then add the soured milk mixture. At this point your dough will be very soft. Adding 1 cup at a time and then mixing, add flour until you can easily roll a ball without dough sticking to your hand. Divide dough into four parts and shape each part into a large ball. On a floured surface, roll out one large ball of dough until it's about 1/4 of an inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Transfer shapes to an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are just barely browned on the bottom. Cool completely on wire racks. Makes 6 dozen 2 inch cookies.
FROSTING
6 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/4 Cup Milk (or water)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Butter, softened
Dash of Salt
In a medium sized mixing bowl combine 6 cups of powdered sugar with 1/4 cup milk (or water) and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Using a hand mixer, mix until well combined. Then add 1/2 cup softened butter and a few shakes of table salt from a salt shaker. Mix until smooth. Your frosting should be soft, but not runny. If it's too runny, add another few tablespoons of powdered sugar until it is the right consistency for frosting the cookies. Add food coloring if desired.
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