Baking is an art form, really. If you can read, and follow instructions, you can make anything, even a complicated recipe, with only a little bit of baking knowledge. A basic understanding of the "lingo" might be nice, but generally if you can be precise (and have google at your fingertips), you can be a good baker, promise.
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| A note about butter. You want it softened, but not too soft. If you press on it, and it makes an indent, but your finger doesn't slice all the way in, making a big hole, it's good. I set it on my counter and use room temp - but there have been days when room temp is too soft! If it's a hot day, or a hot kitchen, the butter can get too soft. Pop it in the freezer for about 5 mins or so until it firms up a bit, then use it. You want it soft. Not mushy. Not melted. Just softened. |
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| Mix butter and icing sugar (powdered or confectioners sugar) until smooth, creamy, and generally looking like this. |
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| Mix the egg with your desired flavouring (vanilla, or almond) - extract or emulsion |
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| Once the egg has been well blended with flavouring, mix into butter/sugar mixture until well blended. |
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| This is NOT well blended |
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| This is the egg mixture, blended properly with the sugar |
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| Next you will sift (gently stir is fine) together the dry ingredient of baking powder, salt, and flour. Weighing ingredients is the best way to ensure that the proper amount is added to a recipe. Most household kitchens don't weigh, they measure. This is fine, but must be done correctly. OVER SCOOP your dry ingredient. Do NOT tap, shake or wiggle the measuring cup to remove excess!! |
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| Take the back side of a knife, or any other flat object, and scrape across the top of the cup, removing all excess. This will make sure you do not over measure. By shaking, tapping etc, you shrink the dry ingredient down, allowing more to pack into the cup than it should hold. |
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| A perfectly measured cup of flour. This method should be used for anything "dry". Like sugar, (brown sugar is an exception, when it says "packed"), flour, salt, etc. |
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| Slowly add the dry ingredients, and mix well - using the "stir" or "2" setting on a Kitchenaid |
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| All done |
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| The dough is soft, but like the butter, not mushy. You can easily indent it, without having it stick to your fingers. |
This dough does not need to rest or set. It can be used right away. To roll out, you will need the following:
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| Wax Paper Parchment Paper Rolling Pin Flour for dusting surfaces Roll the dough in portions (not all at the same time), on a piece of wax paper. Use flour as needed to keep it from sticking. You do NOT want thin dough. This is not a pie crust. Your cookies should be about 1/4"thick...which is thicker than feels natural, I think. Something about dough makes you want to roll it really flat, but don't. |
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| Cut out your cookies, and remove the excess edges |
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| This is actually a little thin. It's within the realm of acceptable, but a bit thicker would be best. To move the cut outs, without them losing shape, put your hands under the wax paper, and "peel it" back. Place the cookie on a sheet of parchment paper. |
You can use the same sheet of wax paper for rolling out dough, and if you're inclined to keep it, you can use another day too, for the same purpose.
I use 2 or 3 sheets of parchment paper, depending on how many cookies I am making. I load up one sheet, lift it (lifting opposite corner, you can pick it right up, and it stays taught/nothing falls off) to the cookie sheet, and bake.
DO NOT OVERBAKE! In my oven, 6 minutes when on a "cold" (room temp) cookie sheet, 5 minutes when on a "warm" one (warm = if you are using 1 cookie sheet over and over, reloading it with another sheet of parchment paper. There should be NO browning edges at all!!! Watch from 5 mins onward, until you know your oven. Obviously the thickness of the cookie comes into play...so don't get them too thin. (If you do, they are prone to break, and may not be able to support the weight of the royale icing)
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| For a large batch baking day, I used the same 3 sheets of parchment paper to bake more than 300 cookies! Just keeping reloading and reusing! After I'm done, I don't keep the parchment, but if you want to, you can. It can be used lots and lots. Once you get in a groove, things move along at a very good pace. For even baking in my oven, I do only one cookie sheet at a time, on the middle rack. |
1 C real butter (If salted, scale back your salt by just a pinch - about an 1/8 t, if unsalted, add the full amount of salt)
1 1/2 C icing sugar (also called powdered sugar or confectioners sugar)
1 egg
2 - 3 t flavouring of choice (I prefer vanilla, my husband prefers almond)
2 1/2 - 2 3/4 C all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
Cream together the butter and sugar. Crack the egg into a separate bowl, and add the flavouring (extract or emulsion). Add to the butter mixture, and mix until well incorporated. In a separate bowl sift together (or stir well to mix up works fine), the dry ingredients, then add little by little to the mixture.
Bake in preheated oven at 400, for 6(ish) minutes. Know your oven, and watch your cookies. No browning allowed!!
These cookies freeze well, and are so so soft, even when sitting out for a week (oooops! But a good experiment). They are truly the best sugar cookies ever!
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