I had sworn off sugar cookies.
I haven�t made them for years and had no intention of making them
again. I had valiantly tried to make Halloween cats, Christmas stockings or
Valentine hearts with rolled-out sugar-cookie dough for holidays when my
children were small. Invariably, they hardly resembled any of the above. Or,
if they did make it through rolling, cutting and baking and were still
recognizable, they were hard as rocks.
Besides, I thought they were an awful lot of trouble, well, at least for
my results!
But along came some recipes from The Sugar Association and I was
intrigued. There seemed to be a new method to making sugar cookies, at least
it was new to me, having given up on them long ago.
The difference? No floury boards to roll the cookies on with resulting
cookies that could be stacked for door stops and little mess to deal with.
Here�s the secret. A VERY short dough is made and spread on a
plastic-wrap-covered cookie sheet. Then the dough is covered with plastic
wrap and you roll the dough with a rolling pin. (That was a little tricky
since my rolling pin is wider than my pan. A pan without sides would work
well. But you can press the dough by hand through the plastic where the pin
won�t go.) Chill the dough for an hour in the freezer, remove and cut the
cookies, still on the wrap, but removed from the pan. Re-roll dough scraps
between the plastic wrap to cut more cookies.
These sugar cookies are delicious � light, crisp and very buttery (do
use real butter!)
Brown Sugar Cookies are good but very different from the white Sugar
Cookies. Brown sugar creates a chewier and more flavorful cookie.
Tips: For the white sugar cookies, roll dough as evenly as possible so
cookies brown together. Thin cookies brown very quickly. Remember that a
dark pan makes cookies bake fast. Both cookies, but especially the brown
sugar ones, spread out. Place cookies about two inches apart so they won�t
run together. These cookies bake quickly, watch carefully.
Either cookie can be dipped in chocolate dip, if desired, and then
decorated with sprinkles. But, we liked these cookies plain.
Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Directions: Preheat oven to 350˚. Combine flour,
baking soda and salt in small bowl. In large bowl, cream butter and sugars.
Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. On low speed, gradually beat in
flour mixture until just combined. Chill dough about an hour. Divide dough
into 24 pieces and roll each into a ball. Place balls on baking sheet pans
and flatten into 1⁄4-inch thick circles. (I used my measuring cup,
dipped in flour, to flatten.) Bake for 15 minutes or until edges begin to
brown. Cool on pan before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. If
desired, dip top half or third of cookie into chocolate dip, then into
sprinkles. Return to wire racks to set. Makes about two dozen cookies. Dip:
6 oz. chocolate morsels, 1⁄3 cup heavy cream, sprinkles. Melt
chocolate in double boiler over hot water. Stir in cream. Stir until smooth.
Remove from heat.
