Fall Is Here! Bring on the Sugar Cookies!

Apart from the beautiful weekend we had here in Ottawa, Fall is definitely on its way.

This is a wonderful thing - Fall is my second favourite season! It tells me that winter is almost here (and with it, comes the Holiday Season, which is my absolute favourite).

So today, I'd like to share with you my tried, tested and true recipe for sugar cookies. They are truly fantastic, and easy to make. This is my extremely detailed post of how to make amazing sugar cookies every time.

Here are the cookies that I made - will focus on photography for next time

What you will need before you start:

Ingredients (check list below)
Large baking bowl x2
Large mixing spoon
Cling wrap
Large rolling pin
Your fave cookie cutters
Parchment paper
Large baking sheet x2
Cooling Rack

Food colouring gel (works much better than liquid)
Additional bowls for different icing colours
Icing piping bags
Icing tips (I use a small round tip - I think it's the Wilton round nozzle #2)

Icing coupler (if you plan to switch colours, this saves a lot of time)


SUGAR COOKIES
Makes over 80 three-bite cookies. I used half the recipe and it was plenty!

Cookies
1 1/2  cups Softened butter (leave out of fridge)
2 1/2  cups White granulated sugar (3 cups if desire sweeter cookies)
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
5 cups  All purpose flour
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Salt

Icing
Repeat this recipe as needed to cover as many cookies as required. Can split the recipe before adding food colouring to make different colours.

1 cup icing sugar
Milk  (I use 1%)
Light corn syrup
Flavouring (colourless vanilla or almond extract)
Colouring (gel or paste is preferred)

Baking Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until smooth

2. Beat in eggs and vanilla. (I usually beat eggs with a fork in smaller bowl and add to mix)

3. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. I suggest you add the flour in increments of 1/2 cups. Otherwise, adding it all together, you end up stirring it for the first time, and flour gets EVERYWHERE.

4. Once it is all blended (should look quite granular) - transfer to a second large baking bowl that is lined with the cling wrap. This will make it easy to remove the dough once it is cool. Wrap the dough up with excess cling wrap.

5. Place in fridge. I have always left it overnight, but as long as it's hardened, 1-2 hours may suffice.

6. Once dough is hard, preheat over to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). I do not have a convection oven - usually temperature is 20 degrees less.

7. Clear large workspace to roll out dough. Spread down flour to keep surface from getting sticky. (Some people prefer to use granulated sugar, I find it changes the taste of the cookies).

8. Grab a few handfuls of dough. Start kneading it into the flour. - should become easier to work with, as it is quite crumbly when it comes directly from the fridge.

9. Roll out dough ONTO the parchment paper. This makes it much easier for making shapes. Make them as thick as you like, keeping in mind that thicker cookies will take a little longer to bake.

10. Press cookie cutters firmly into rolled out dough. Leave at least 1 inch between all edges of cookies - they will expand. Remove excess dough and put aside.

11. Place cookies on middle rack. Depending on your oven, cookies may cook very rapidly. Cook 5 1/2 - 6 1/2 minutes, depending on thickness. WATCH THEM. As soon as the edges start turning a golden colour, they are done.

12. Cool on rack. Proceed with next tray.

Icing Instructions:
Icing is all about getting the right consistency, which is difficult to describe in a blog.
Start with the base of icing sugar.

Add milk very slowly (1/2 tsp at a time). Add milk until sugar becomes wet-clumpy, do not add enough so that is it "wet" - if you add too much, add more icing sugar to get that clumpy appearance.

If you choose to add flavouring, add it in between milk addition. (usually 1/4 -1/2 tsp of vanilla or almond extract is plenty - flavour to your taste). If you are using food colouring that is liquid, also add it at this stage.

I make it "wet" by adding in the light corn syrup. This makes is velvety smooth, without it becoming runny. You are looking for a texture that will spread easily, without it being able to leak out from the nozzle of the icing tip.

Add food colouring gel/paste (tiny amount) once you have reached the desired consistency.

Set up your piping bags, and fill them.

Ensure the cookies are cool before starting to pipe. Pipe around edge of cookie, then fill in the centre. You can go back and add 3D details once the icing in dry.

Do not stack cookies until icing is absolutely dry. This can take a few hours.


Then the best, and most important part - Sit back, admire your work, (maybe take a photo for Instagram) then DEVOUR THEM!

Hope they turn out!

Cara xox