Sugar Cookies
Are you coming over from Jana's blog today? We're showing our bake-all-day outfits, and I bet you're interested in that sugar cookie recipe you caught a glimpse of. Am I right? You've come to the right place. 
Bloggers can sometimes appear to have cookie cutter lives. Perfect outfits, flawless skin, a gorgeous house with decorations to fit a pottery barn catalog. My life is far from perfect, so I teamed up with Jana from Life Could Be a Dream to bring you our typical "bake-all-day" outfits... plus a delicious sugar cookie recipe (which trust me, you DON'T want to miss).On a day where I'm not planning on leaving the house, I wear something comfortable, washable, and breathable. "Planning on leaving" is the key part of that sentence. I still end up taking roughly 13 trips to the grocery store to grab the things I forgot in order to complete a baking project.I wear my hair up because no one wants hair in their goodies. My rings are set delicately in their dish, and I'm free to wash my hands as many times as I need to without interference. When I'm in my bake-all-day attire, life is good.
Leggings, a basic t shirt, and an apron are "where it's at" for baking all day. If I'm going out for a minute, I'll throw a cardigan over the t shirt and be on my merry way.
But you're really here for the sugar cookie recipe, aren't you?This sugar cookie recipe has been such a joy to make over and over. It honestly makes the most delectable sugar cookies I've ever tasted. Tooting my own horn, much? Well, yes. But seriously. They are that good.You could top these with some coarse sugar, but I love the way they taste with homemade royal icing on top. You can even get creative with designs on these!Without further adieu, my sugar cookie recipe:
Sugar Cookies & Royal Icing
Ingredients:
- 1.5 Cups butter, softened
- 2 Cups White Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract (1 tsp for cookies, 1 tsp for icing)
- 5 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 Egg Whites
- 1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 1 Teaspoon Water
- Food Coloring
Instructions:
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Cream together butter and sugar until smooth with a mixer. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
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Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.
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Chill dough for 30 minutes or longer.
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out dough on a floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
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Cut dough with cookie cutters. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 6 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
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For the Royal Icing:
Mix powdered sugar, tartar, and egg whites until all combined. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1-2 tsp water.Beat for 3 minutes on high.Scoop out desired amount of icing to color. Color with food coloring, then thin by adding 1 tablespoon of water until it reaches 5 second consistency. 
Stir between each tablespoon to decide if you will add more water.Fill piping bags with colored icing. (Any icing not used, cover with plastic wrap flush with the icing. This will keep it from drying as quickly).Pipe icing around the perimeter of your cookie and flood with icing. (Pssst. If you don't know how to flood with icing, like I didn't, watch THIS VIDEO.)
Allow icing to dry completely for 12-24 hours... enjoy!
Do you like to make sugar cookies? How do you prefer to top them?