Snowflake Sugar Cookies

I had to share these because they turned out so cute. I made them for our Primary (kids under age 12 at our church).  This is the sugar cookie recipe I posted way back in 2010 and it is my go to recipe ever since.  I will add it again on this post. You have probably seen the design if you use Pinterest, that's where I picked it up. 

The cookie glaze will harden in a few hours. It will not get super hard so you have to be a little gentle with them but the outside is firm enough and soft when you bite into them. I have a large plastic container I put them in (not stacked) and I leave them overnight before I package them. I found this was the best if you use the snowflake design because the cookies are tender at first and the arms break off easily. Any other solid design won't be a problem. I do use my stand mixer and it makes it much easier so if you have one by all means use it. The dough is a little stiff to mix.

Preheat oven to 375

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
2 1/2 cups flour

parchment paper

Directions

Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs and mix well. Add milk and vanilla and blend.
Add the salt, baking powder, and flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is soft, but not sticky.
*The wonderful thing about this dough is that it doesn't have to be refrigerated first. I do use a little extra flour when I roll the cookies out. Don't be afraid to use enough to make the dough easy to roll and not stick to the surface you are rolling it on. You can knead it a little with some flour and re-roll if you have too. You don't want the dough sticky at all.

Roll out 1/4 inch thick and cut into the shapes you want. Depends on what shapes you use as to how many cookies you get.

Put shapes on cookie sheet prepared with parchment paper. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-9 minutes, yep that's all, even though they may look undercooked. If you bake them to long they will end up being hard later.

Decorating Icing
2  3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Beat all ingredients well with hand or stand mixer. If you want your icing thinner just add one teaspoon of water at a time until desired consistency.  I usually add a few more because I like mine a little thinner. It kind of spreads itself then and gets a smooth look. Don't go to near the edge of cookie or it will go over the edge.

I use a frosting bag with a tiny tip like you would use for writing on a cake but you can easily use a zip lock bag and cut a tiny bit off the tip. Experiment first and then you can see how easy it is.