Decorated Sugar Cookies

As mentioned earlier, we (my daughter and I) made some sugar cookies over the holidays to pack as a gift and I thought it would be a good way to spend some time together because she loves to help me, loves cookies and was particularly looking forward to decorating them. Sugar cookies are simple to make but taste buttery sweet and crisp. However, I didn't want to make royal icing which is the best way to decorate sugar cookies.. instead we just used storebought gel pens and some egg yolk mixed with a drop of food coloring (that we painted on using cleaned water colour brushes). Anushka enjoyed all the decorating and cutting out the cookies. The whole family enjoyed the taste of these crispy cookies and it's definitely something I'll be making again and again.

SUGAR COOKIES

Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup (I added a bit more since we were not going to be heavyhanded with our icing)
Egg - 1
Butter - 1 stick (half cup), softened
Milk - 2 tbsp
Baking powder - half tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Vanilla extract - half tsp
Powdered Sugar - for dusting (to prevent the dough from sticking)

Method:

1) Sift flour, salt and baking powder together.

2) In a big bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Add egg, milk & vanilla extract and continue to beat until combined.

3) Add the flour mixture in batches and run the mixer on low until it comes together as a dough.

4) Divide the dough into 2 parts, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for atleast 2 hours.

5) Preheat oven to 350F. Spread a large surface with wax/parchment paper and sprinkle powdered sugar and roll out the dough uniformly until it's 1/4 inch thick.

6) Cover with another sheet of parchment, transfer to a baking sheet and chill again for about 30 minutes (This will ensure that the dough doesn't spread out and retains its shape when baked).

7) Using cookie cutters (we used different shapes, such as house, duck, heart, dog etc.), cut the dough and transfer them to a baking sheet (covered with foil or parchment paper). If using egg yolk + food coloring, then paint using brushes (before baking) or sprinkle with colored sugar crystals.

8) Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown. Then allow to cool on a wire rack until completely cool. If decorating using royal icing or gel pens, do that after the cookies have baked and cooled.