Baking is a great way to bond with kids. Children are naturally creative, they love to “get their hands dirty,” and they love sweet treats. I also have yet to meet a child who isn’t thrilled to gift something they've crafted themselves - so having them gift their beautiful baked goods teaches them the value of their creativity and labour and how special it is to put time and effort into a present. A baking project with the kids also has the added benefit of distracting them from the various electronic devices they may be attached to!
This recipe for Sugar Cookies is truly delicious and easy for the whole family - it certainly isn’t limited to children, however they will enjoy creating fun shapes with cookie cutters and decorating these sweet treats with frosting, sprinkles, or any other topping you choose. Mom will definitely love a beautiful box of bright cookies made with love!
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter - softened to room temperature
- 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg - room temperature
- 1/4 Teaspoon Almond Extract
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
Directions
- Beat the butter until smooth in a large bowl using a mixer with a paddle (+- 1 minute)
- Add the sugar and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy (+- 3-4 minutes)
- Add egg, vanilla & almond extract, then beat on high for about 2 minutes
- Whisk flour, baking powder & salt together in a bowl
- Lower the speed of the mixer, then add half the flour mixture to the rest & beat until it is only just combined
- Add the rest of the flour and continue mixing until all of it is just combined
- If dough seems too soft, add 1 tablespoon of flour.
- Divide dough into two equal parts, the roll each part out to a 1/4 inch thinckness on a sheet of parchment.
- Stack each rolled out piece, with the parchment in place, onto baking sheets and refrigerate for at least one hour, but no more than one day. Chilling the dough is key to the success of the recipe. Chilling the dough already rolled out is much easier than trying to roll out a ball of chilled dough later.
- Preheat oven to 350 *F. Line 2 to 3 large baking sheets with parchment.
- Use your favorite cookie cutters to form shapes (we used hearts,) then transfer shaped cookie dough to the lined baking sheets
- Combine remaining dough and roll out. Cut more shapes until all dough is used
- You can add sprinkles before baking or, if you prefer, leave them plain and frost them afterwards (scroll down to the bottom of this post for a frosting recipe)
- Bake for 8-11 minutes. The cookies should be golden on top and around the edges. Leave them to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack
- Have fun decorating the cookies as you please - be creative!
Frosting
This recipe creates a nice glossy frosting that dries firm
- One cup of confectioner's sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoons of milk
- 2 teaspoons of light corn syrup
- Assorted food coloring
Directions
- Stir the confectioner's sugar and milk in a bowl until the mixture is smooth
- Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until the icing is glossy and smooth
- Divide into separate bowls
- Add your choice food colorings to each bowl to create a fun palette of colors to paint onto your cookies!