Delicious Sugar Cookies

Part of the enjoyment of the holiday season involves spending time in the kitchen whipping up delicious treats. Particularly for young children, baking sugar cookies with Mom or Dad and then decorating the creations can be a festive way to spend a day.

 Those short on time can turn to store-made sugar cookie dough for their cookie making, but those who want the authentic taste of cookies from scratch, there are many recipes from which to choose.

 This recipe for rolled sugar cookies produces cookies that will hold up well to cutting and baking. They're also quite delicious.

 

 Rolled Sugar Cookies

 (Makes 5 dozen)

 11/2 cups butter, softened

 3 cups white sugar

 4 eggs

 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 5 cups all-purpose flour

 2 teaspoons baking powder

 1 teaspoon salt

 

1. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

 2. Mix the dry ingredients together and add to the wet ingredients until incorporated. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour.

 3. Preheat the oven to 400 F. On a surface coated with some confectioners' sugar, roll out the dough to between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thickness (a thinner cookie will be crispier). Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter.

 4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the parchment.

 5. Bake around 5 to 7 minutes, or just until the edges of the cookies start to brown. Remove promptly from the cookie sheet and cool on a rack.

 6. Decorate the cookies using icing (recipe below) when the cookies cool, or sprinkle with colored sugar while cookies are warm.