Sugar Cookies

At home there's a good chance that there are some cookie cutters lying about. My home always had buckets of different shapes. But here at college - I have zero cutters. I'm also a college student which makes finding the time and money to go out and by cutters limited. Here comes household cookie cutters! There are cups, using a knife to cut shapes, and random cookie cutters you might actually have (I have a cutter of my school mascot for some reason).

Another problem with sugar cookies is that you have roll out the dough and in small spaces that can be hard. The first way to help with that is cut in smaller batches; cut the ball of dough into small chunks.

Sugar Cookies

Makes: ±2 dozen     Cookie prep time: 15 min    Fridge time: 6-8 hours    Bake time: 1 hour   Icing prep and assembly time: 1 hour

Utensils needed: measuring cups and spoons, spatula, whisk, large & small mixing bowls, plastic wrap, flat spatula, small dish, cookie sheet, container, 4 spoon, 2 small bowls, 4 sandwich size plastic bags

The Cookie:

1 c. butter, softened (2 sticks)         1/2 t. almond extract
1 c. granulated sugar                           2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 eggs                                                         1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla extract


In a large bowl, using a whisk cream butter and sugar until grainy-smooth, 2-4 minutes. If not using a mixer, cut butter into smaller pieces to mix and use a knife to help declump the whisk. Whisk in eggs and extracts until fluffy, 3 solid minutes. In a separate small bowl, combine flour and baking powder with a spatula. Stir flour mixture in creamed mixture and combine well. Using the spatula, form the dough into a ball and place on a square of plastic wrap to wrap tightly or a plastic bag with the air removed and refrigerate for 6-8 hours or overnight.


After the refrigerated time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and have the racks at a normal medium height. Cut off a 1/3 of the dough and put the rest back in the fridge. On a well floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll out a section of the dough to 1/4-inch thick. If you don't trust the cleanliness of your table like me, lightly flour another pan. If you also don't have a rolling pin like I do, use a smooth round object like a can, water bottle, and the longer the object the better. I have a jar of peanut butter to use.


Flour your hands well as this is a sticky dough but with flour it gets better. Work the dough with your hands a little and start flattening the dough with your hands. Flatten your dough and flip it over, reflouring the pan/table if necessary. Flip and roll until until the dough doesn't stick anymore and is 1/4-inch thick.


Get a small flat dish like a plate and put flour in it, this will be to dip the edges of your cutters and cups into so they don't stick. Cut out cookies using cups (an elongated cup can be an oval), cutters, or knifing a shape and transfer using a flat spatula to the cookie sheet (spray or butter if not non-stick). Smash and reroll the dough after you get as many cookies as you can out. If the dough becomes too sticky to work with but back in the fridge and get another section. The very last scrapes of the dough I always smash together and either mold into random shapes or eat it (which isn't good because of the raw eggs...)


Bake 8-12 minutes or until edges are lightly golden brown. Using the flat spatula remove done cookies to another pan or a wire rack to cool for 30 min to an hour. If your oven is browning the cookies too quickly, lower the temp to 350 and increase the time. If you only have one cookie sheet like me then lay a cool damp washcloth under the cookie sheet to help it cool off quickly.

The Icing/Assembly:

2 tubs of store bought icing (preferably white so the color comes through)
food coloring


As the cookies are done and cooling, get two small bowls out and separate the icing into 4 equal shares. Then add food coloring. I'm made blue, red, green, and kept the last section white. Taking a plastic bag and using the spoon for that color, fill the bag but leave room at a corner. Then cut a small corner off, the diagonal line you've made should not be longer than 2 cm. The smaller the cut the thinner the icing will come out. Now you can decorate the cookies with lines, dots, zigzag, outlines - don't forget the sprinkles!

Until I bake next, I'm Sarah

Peace