Basic Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies are so versatile.  Depending on what shape or color you choose, they can be used for many different occasions. For these cookies, I used blue and yellow food coloring with marine  and alphabet themed cutouts.  I have been using this recipe for many years and is a guaranteed kid pleaser.  They love being able to identify the shapes.  It's a great learning tool - You can use letter and number cutouts and only allow them to eat the cookie if they can identify the letter or make a word.  These are just a few choices.  Of course, all things in moderation - Do not allow them to eat all 26 letters in one day!

Sugar Cookies

(click here for printable recipe)
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, beaten.
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
extra milk and sugar, for topping


Mix sugar and butter well.  Add milk, vanilla and egg and mix well.
In a small bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Add this to the other mixture and mix well.  Batter comes together very easily with a wooden spoon.  It is not necessary to use an electric mixer.  
Add desired food coloring.  Mix by hand.  It will take a good 5 minutes of kneading by hand, but eventually the food coloring will be evenly distributed.  You can divide the dough in portions and have different colors.  You can also mix it only half way, to have kind of a tye dye effect.  Refrigerate for one hour.  If you leave it to refrigerate longer, you will have to leave it out for about 10-15 minutes, until it is soft enough to roll, however, you do not want it too soft, so that it sticks to your board and rolling pin.
Preheat oven to 350 F.  Spray cookie sheet with non stick spray.  (You can also use parchment paper)  On a well floured surface, take about 1/3 of the dough.  Refrigerate the rest, while you work with this portion.  Roll out until about 1/8" thick.  Dip cookie cutters in flour and cut out shapes of dough.  Brush with a little milk and sprinkle a little plain or colored sugar on top.  Use decorations (as I did with fish cookies), if desired.
Place on prepared cookie sheet.  Re-roll excess dough and repeat until all dough is used up.

Bake for 8 minutes.  Let set for 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.  Store in an air tight container for up to 14 days or in the refrigerator for up to 30 days.

Sending this recipe to my own Taste of the Tropics - Sugarcane,  Vardhini's Bake Fest hosted by Pradnya  and Srivalli's Cookie Mela

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Chef Mireille 
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