The Ultimate Sugar Cookie

I recently went on the hunt for the ultimate sugar cookie recipe. Sugar cookies are a favorite of mine, and virtually the only cookie my kids like. After days of searching the internet, I finally found “the one.” This recipe met all of my requirements:

1. Easy – I’m not trying trying to be in the kitchen for days.
2. Simple Ingredients – Who has time to search the cream of tartar powder or some other weird ingredient?!
3. Good for Cookie Cutters – I want to be able to make whatever shape I want.
4. Not super, super sweet – I want to be able to ice my sugar cookies, so I know this adds to the sweetness.
5. Soft  – Nobody wants to break a tooth on a rock hard cookie.

Here it is, World’s Best Sugar Cookies:

• 1 Cup Softened Butter
• 8 Ounce Softened Cream Cheese
• 1 ½ Cup Sugar
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ½ Teaspoon Almond Extract
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 3 ½ Cups Flour (You’ll also need some extra flour for your rolling pin and surface)

For the Icing:

• 2 Sticks Softened Butter
• 8 Ounce Softened Cream Cheese
• 3 – 4 Cups Powdered Sugar (I just add it until it’s the consistency I want)
• 1-2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream or Milk (Again, just a dash to get icing the right consistency)
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

Fruit Toppings: 

Blueberries

Strawberries

Raspberries

Baking Instructions:

1. Blend up butter and cream cheese.
2. Add sugar, egg, and both extracts.
3. Mix remaining dry ingredients. I slowly add the flour, so I don’t have a huge mess on my hands.
4. The original recipe says to let the dough sit in the fridge for at least an hour. I usually just make it the night before I need it, and roll it, cut out shapes, etc the next night. The cookies are best if you roll them to about ¼ inch thick. Too thin, and they’ll become too crunchy.
5. Cook at 375 for 8-10 minutes. If these cookies get brown, then you cooked them too long.

As the cookies cool, I get my icing ready.

1. Mix the butter and cream cheese.
2. Add in Vanilla Extract.
3. Slowly add your powdered sugar.
4. Add heavy cream or milk, if the consistency becomes too thick.

Before the icing sets, I add my fruit. I cut the strawberries in half, but leave raspberries and blueberries whole. The less liquid from the fruits you have, the better you’ll be. I usually try to make these a few hours before I’m serving, so they can go in the fridge for a little while, but also so my fruit doesn’t run. I don’t care for the look of a fruity cookie with juice all over it. Dry the fruit as much as possible before placing it on the cookie.

For this particular event, I decorated my little fruit cookies with Gold Edible Glitter, and Dang Coconut Chips. They’re so very delicious. Hope you enjoy!  

Thanks to Taste of Lizzy T for the amazing cookie recipe. It really is a great base for any sort of sugar cookie recipe you’ll want to make!