One of my least favorite-favorite things is to bake real sugar cookies. Least favorite-favorite, you ask? The truth is that I love the thought of making, rolling, cutting, and frosting sugar cookies. It's so wonderfully domestic. In my mind, I'm standing in my pristine kitchen in my adorable apron icing perfectly formed sugar creations with perfectly pink frosting to create the picture perfect baked delight. In reality, I'm standing in my flour coated kitchen in my stained apron icing slightly deformed sugar creations with lumpy pink frosting to create the most tedious of baked delights. The best sugar cookies are made over a series of days. So, my expert sugar cooking recommendation it to mix the dough one evening. Roll the dough out and cut it the next day & then that evening when you're listening to some great tunes in your pajamas--frost those little morsels. The fact of the matter is that there's nothing better than a soft sugar cookie slathered with homemade frosting--and don't forget the sprinkles--always the sprinkles. Halloween is a traditional sugar cookie holiday--along with Christmas, Valentine's Day (a must), and Easter. So pull out those pumpkin cutters and get to work!Plain Pink Heaven Sugar Cookies
2 eggs
1 cup margarine
1½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
5 cups flour (plus 1-2 for later)*
2 T baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar, and add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla, one cup flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt then add remaining 4 cups of flour. Mixture will appear dry, once mixed add sour cream, mixture will become very wet. Using a generous amount of flour, roll out cookie dough to ½ inch and cut using cookie cutters in any shape desired.
Bake cookies 10-13 minutes. The trick to moist cookies is to not let them get brown at the edges.
Pink Frosting
Add in this order:
¾ cup butter
Mix so that it is soft
6 c. powdered sugar
Turn mixer on low and slowly add…1 tsp vanilla
Mix for 10 seconds and slowly drizzle 2 drops red food coloring
4-6 T milk
Start with 4 tablespoons of milk. If the mixture isn’t coming together add the next tablespoon and increase the mixer speed for about 30 seconds. If the frosting is still dry add more milk. Adding too much milk can cause the frosting to become pasty.
