Cookie Dough

This is THE recipe I use for all my cookies… I “borrowed” it from The Adventures of Sweet Sugar Belle, an amazing cookie artist in Texas. I have copied and pasted this as it appears on her site, and added my own suggestions at the end.

Basic Sugar Cookie         Copyright © 2012 SweetSugarBelle.com

Ingredients

• 1 c. {two sticks} of REAL unsalted BUTTER, softened
• 1 1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar
• 1 egg
• 2-3 tsp flavoring {pick what you like, I prefer almond}
• 2 1/2-2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Instructions

1. Cream together softened butter and confectioner’s sugar. Crack the egg into a separate bowl, and add the flavoring. I use emulsions, but extract also works well. Add that to the butter sugar mixture and mix until the egg is thoroughly incorporated. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add little by little to the mixture. I can tell the dough is ready when most of it sticks to the paddle. When I touch it, it has a little give, but does not stick to my fingers.
2. Roll out on parchment to about 1/4 an inch thick, use flour for dusting as necessary. Then, cut and bake at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes. This version makes 2-2 1/2 dozen, doubled, it makes 4-5 dozen.

Notes

The dough DOES not need to be refrigerated. That’s why I like it. The dough needs to rest a little after mixing, it will firm up a little bit after a minute or two

The recipe doubles well Baking times are approximate. You must KNOW your oven. Watch them the first few times you bake them. Get a thermometer, and do not over bake. If the cookies are browning you have gone too far. This dough can be flavored any way you like. There is a lot of leavener in these cookies. This is not a typo. The general rule is less leavener so they don’t spread, but I’ve never been one to follow the rules. This recipe does spread a little. If you don’t like that add a little flour. Speaking of flour, start with 2 1/2 cups. Add another 1/4 of a cup if the dough seems to sticky. If you don’t like salt, leave it out altogether. If you only have salted butter, use that and reduce the salt. I prefer decorating day-old cookies. They are less likely to leach oil back into your icing if they have had a day or two to “dry out”. They are still soft, however.

The cookies freeze well.

Linda’s Notes

Flavors:

I use 1 Tab. Almond Emulsion or Almond Extract

or 1 Tab. Vanilla Bean Emulsion or Vanilla Extract

or 1 Tab. Pumpkin Spice Emulsion plus 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice seasoning

Flour: I do not sift the flour…ever!

Baking Powder: I reduce the amt. of baking powder to 1 ½ tsp.

Butter: I always use salted butter and I still add salt to the dough.

Rolling/cutting: I always roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment, freeze for 20-30 min. and bake the cookies on a sheet of parchment… I do not use flour or shortening to roll or bake.

Baking: I bake at 400˚F converted to Convection it becomes 375˚F… I start at 5 min, turn the pans and usually have to add 1, 2, or 3 min. depending on the size of the cookies. I like the edges on the very tips to just be starting to brown.

Freezing: This dough freezes well, as do the cookies.