Easter Sugar Cookies

Steps

1. Preheat - set the oven to 350˚F with a rack in the upper and lower third of the oven if baking 2 sheets at a time, otherwise put a rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Dry ingredients - In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

3. Wet ingredients - Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, 3 minutes. To the mixture add the egg and vanilla and beat for another 1 minute to combine.

4. Mix the batter - Reduce the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture in 3 parts, mixing until fully incorporated. If the dough seems too sticky to roll, add 1 Tbsp flour at a time.

5. Roll out the dough - Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. You can wrap and refrigerate the dough for 30-60 minutes or proceed with rolling the dough. On a generously floured surface, roll out the dough. Dust the dough with flour if the rolling pin is sticking. Roll the dough to 1/4” thick. Periodically scoot the dough around to check that the dough is not sticking to your work surface. If it is, dust with more flour and proceed.

6. Cut and bake - Cut cookies out with an egg-shaped cookie cutter (mine was 2.5 x 3.75 x 1 inches) or your favorite Easter cookie cutter. Gather your scraps and re-roll to make more cookies. Carefully transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet - I find it helps to use a food scraper to get under and lift the cookies from the surface without squishing them. Bake at 350˚F for 10-11 minutes or until the eggs are just beginning to turn golden. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely before decorating with icing.

7. Mix - In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the icing ingredients until smooth. To thicken the icing, add more powdered sugar and you can thin it out by adding more milk. Transfer to a piping bag or a zip-top bag and snip off the corner to create a hole for creating patterns on your sugar cookies. You can also use a squeeze bottle if you have one.

8. Add color - To add color to your glaze, put some of the white icing into a small bowl and add a tiny dot of gel food coloring. To get the soft pastel colors, you can even just use some food coloring on the tip of a toothpick. A little goes a long way! If the colored icing gets too thin, you can add more powdered sugar.

9. Decorate - Trace the cookies with icing then fill in as desired. If using sprinkles, add them right away while the icing is still wet so they cling to the icing.