Gorgeous Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies can be tricky.  I've tried several recipes only to have shapeless blobs come out of the oven.  It's frustrating - but the kids will still eat them.

The recipe I finally found success with was by Wilton.  The original recipe calls for almond extract.  While this is a gorgeous nutty flavor, some may not care for it and when making it for nut-sensitive friends I modify the recipe.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

I also don't put salt in my cookies.  Some will say that this effects the rise on the cookies, but I have found that it isn't necessary.  From here I followed the directions provided by Wilton for mixing and baking the cookies.

Be sure to cool your cookies completely.  If they are even the least bit warm your icing will run off and make a huge mess.

Blissfully Domestic provided me with the most successful recipe for icing the cookies.  When making the "flooding" icing (the icing that covers the entire cookie) be sure to add VERY small amounts of water.  I added a bit too much to my yellow batch and it was very thin.  The icing should barely run off your spoon to flood.  I found that to coat the cookie but be thick and opaque you'll need to place some icing on the cookie and gently encourage the icing around the cookie to fill it.  When I made the icing runny enough to "flow" on the cookie it was much too thin, soaked into the cookie and was thin and transparent (required another layer).  

For my fall foliage cookies (pictured above) I lined the edges of the cookie with a darker, thicker icing.  I then flooded the cookie with a paler, thinner icing.  I left the cookie to dry completely (about 20-30min).  Then using the same icing as the edges I put the central veins of the leaves on and sprinkled colored sugar onto the wet icing.  I used a silicone basting brush to clean off the extra sugar (very gently).  Left to set (again about 20 min) and then boxed for storage until I served them at my daughters fall garden festival.  Once the icing is set you can gently stack the cookies without having the icing transfer.

I didn't get as clean a line on the maple leaf shape cutter as I did with the oak leaf cutter.  Experiment with your shapes and just remember - kids will eat any cookie, even if they come out a little abstract.