This is THE only sugar cookie recipe you will ever need. And that’s coming from someone who never cared about sugar cookies. This one definitely converted me.
Ingredients:
- 175g Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 200 g Sugar
- 60g Cream Cheese
- 1 Egg, room temperature
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 400 g Plain Flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
For the Royal Icing:
- 40 g Pasteurized Eggs Whites
- 210 g Powdered Sugar, sifted
- Food coloring
Instructions
1. Place the butter and sugar in a mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together until light and fluffy (for about 2 minutes). You can also use a spatula or hand held electric whisker.
2. Add the cream cheese and beat again.
3. Once the cheese is completely incorporated, add the egg and the vanilla extract and beat again.
4. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt and beat again until JUST combined and forming a cohesive dough. It might be a bit sticky from the cream cheese at this stage, but refrigerating it will help with the rolling afterwards.
5. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, flatten into a disk, cover with a clingfilm, and refrigerate for at least two-three hours to relax the gluten that has developed. If you don’t want to bake the cookies on the same day, you can keep the dough for 2-3 days in the fridge and up to 2 months in the freezer.
6. Take out the dough from the fridge and let it sit for 5 minutes at room temperature, then roll to a thickness of 1/4 or 1/2 inch (~5 – 10 mm) and cut your shapes using cookie cutters.
7. Transfer your shapes to a tray lined with baking parchment and place the tray in the freezer for at least 20 minutes. This will ensure the butter is cold again and will prevent the cookies from spreading.
8. Pre-heat the oven at 180C or 350F.
9. Bake the cookies at 180C or 350F for 10 minutes. Baking time will depend on the size of the cookies. You should aim for a slightly golden bottom and a non-shiny top which indicates that the dough is baked through.
10. Once the cookies are done baking, carefully transfer them immediately onto a cooling rack using a spatula and let them completely cool down. The cookies will still be soft at this stage but they will continue baking on rack as they get cooler and ready for icing.
11. To make the royal icing, mix together the pasteurized egg whites and the sugar. Add a drop of food coloring and use a toothpick to move the coloring into the white royal icing by drawing swirls. Dip the front face of a cookie horizontally into the icing and twist. Shake the cookie to get rid of excess icing, then place on a plate and let it dry.
Mrs. Sucrée 