2010_12_10-Sugar-Cookies.jpgThere are a few recipes that we turn to every holiday season, and this is one of them. This is a workhorse of a cookie recipe. Why? Well, it has everything you need for good cut-out sugar cookies. They mix up quickly, and they are full of sugar and butter so they keep well. This is a firm dough that can be rolled and cut more easily than Play-Doh, and yet it turns out a meltingly delicious cookie, with hints of almond, vanilla, and lemon.

2007_12_18-StarCookies.jpgOf course, labeling any recipe "best" is a risky proposition, but these have stood the test of time and many, many batches — and at least one reader agrees with my label!

Since I first posted this recipe a few years ago, I've made these many times. The original recipe made an enormous batch, and needed your very largest bowl for mixing. This is appropriate enough at Christmas, but I know that you don't always need to make 12 dozen cookies at a time. So I am including a scaled-down version of the recipe here.

A few tips:
• The dough freezes perfectly. The original recipe makes a very large quantity, so roll out a few sheets of dough and freeze flat in the freezer between wax paper and plastic wrap for quick cut-out cookies later.
• When you take the chilled dough out of the fridge you may need to let it sit for a few moments before it is soft enough to roll out. The high quotient of butter makes this a very firm dough.
• That firmness makes these perfect cut-out cookies for children; if you roll the dough at least 1/4 inch thick children should have no problem cutting and picking up cookie dough shapes. The dough doesn't tear easily or get too soft like other more delicate cookie doughs.
• They are firm yet tender, with a very buttery flavor. If you sandwich them with a soft filling like buttercream or Nutella the cookies soften even more.

2007_12_18-StarCookies2.jpgDecorating ideas:
• Ice with a sugar glaze then sandwich with Nutella between two cookies.
• Glaze with warmed jelly then sandwich with another cut-out cookie on top.
• Drizzle with melted chocolate.
• Ice with royal icing and stick on candy dots for decoration.

Best Cut-Out Sugar Cookies (Huge Batch) between 8 and 12 dozen, depending on size

3 cups unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for an hour
3 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
6 ounces cream cheese (3/4 of a standard cream cheese package)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons lemon zest
9 cups flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and add the sugar. Cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until golden. Add the cream cheese and again beat until well incorporated. Add the flavorings and lemon zest.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl then add, bit by bit, to the butter/sugar mixture until fully incorporated. (You will have chosen a large bowl for this particular recipe, I hope - mine was overflowing by this point and I ended up doing the final mix in a large plastic bag.)

Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour — preferably overnight.

Heat the oven to 350° F. Divide the dough into smaller balls and roll out 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out cookies.

Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes, depending on thickness. The small, thinner ones started browning after about 8 minutes, and I didn't want these brown at all. The larger ones had a slight golden bottom after 11 minutes, which was perfect for my purposes.

Let cool before icing or decorating, and store in a tightly covered container.

2010_12_10-Sugar-Cookies02.jpgBest Cut-Out Sugar Cookies (Small Batch)
about 3 dozen cookies, depending on size

1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for an hour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 ounces cream cheese (1/4 of a standard cream cheese package)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and add the sugar. Cream until light and fluffy. Add the egg, and beat until golden. Add the cream cheese and again beat until well incorporated. Add the flavorings and lemon zest.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl then add, bit by bit, to the butter/sugar mixture until fully incorporated.

Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour.

Heat the oven to 350° F. Divide the dough into smaller balls and roll out 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out cookies.

Bake cookies for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness. The small, thinner ones started browning after about 8 minutes, and I didn't want these brown at all. The larger ones had a slight golden bottom after 11 minutes, which was perfect for my purposes.

Let cool before icing or decorating, and store in a tightly covered container.

Related: Sugar Cookies Save the Day!

(Originally published December 18, 2007)

(Images: Faith Durand)