09 February 2011

sugar cookie love



sugar cookie love.

for a church activity, we had a party (complete with red kool-aid punch) with eight girls and their moms to decorate valentine cookies together. i was assigned to bake the cookies. i secretly planned to buy them. but i couldn't justify it since i had spare time and all the ingredients. i am slowly learning to love making sugar cookies rather than loathe the whole process. i usually text my sister and ask her why in the world am i making sugar cookies again?! i had low expectations this time and was delighted when this batch of hearts came out pretty and soft. maybe my sugar cookie curse has ended! here are a few tips i've learned from trial and error.

break up the process: make dough one day, bake another day and frost another.
or take them to a party instead of fretting over frosting.
watch a lovey movie or listen to music to make it feel festive.
the thicker your cookie shapes, the softer its texture.
use a tried and true recipe: the shorter the ingredient list, the better.
divide your dough into small portions, less re-rolling is preferred. 
i once read that martha stewart only re-rolls leftover scraps once.
make blob cookies from the end of your dough scraps.
they taste equally delicious and blob cookie calories don't count.
cookies should only bake for approximately eight minutes, watch them closely.
soak cookie cutters for a few minutes and towel dry.  
and my favorite tip:
hold the backside of your cookie sheet under cold tap water to cool it quickly for reuse.


do you have any sugar cookie tips to share?

28 comments:

meg duerksen said...

just yesterday my annie asked "can we make heart shaped cookies that taste like sugar and put frosting on them for valentine's?" i think i groaned. you made it look pretty....and less messy....and fun.

still i think i will let grandma take care of that job like always. it's win win. grandma likes it and my kitchen is flour free. :)

dandee said...

Oh, your photos are so pretty, Marta!

We were already planning on baking sugar cookies this weekend and now I'm even more excited. I love the idea of making the dough the day before the rolling/cutting/baking. I'm going to have to give that a shot this go around.

Charlotte said...

The frosting looks so yummy.. what kind is it? homemade or storebought? :-) may need to whip some up this weekend.

marta said...

thank you for the nice comments!

@charlotte, my favorite frosting is white buttercream frosting. it's so simple.

1 cube butter (unsalted)
a few cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. milk

whip into fluffy goodness and frost into a frenzy.

Kimberlee said...

I think that sugar cookies are my favorite of all the cookies. And I believe that no holiday can be properly celebrated without appropriately shaped holiday themed sugar cookies.

My tip: use a recipe that includes sour cream as one of the ingredients. Sour cream makes a deliciously moist sugar cookie.

Sarah said...

Along with not over rolling, I would say watch out for over baking. I made a Martha recipe one time that I thought would turn out lovely but turned out yucky. I overbaked. When I checked the cookies, I thought they needed more time, but now I know that I only need to bake until the edges are golden... Bake and learn!

Stephanie said...

Marta,
Please share your cookie recipe!

Thanks!

Jen said...

i am the only one in this family here who looks for holidays to make sugar cookies for - yes we make them for st. patrick's day! - and i'm the only one who eats them!!! I love love love them. love inviting little picasso's over to make the decorating more of a party. to eat them till your teeth hurt.
my go to recipe is one i got from nigella off the tv years ago - i'm going to do a valentines sugar cookie post myself and post the recipe there. it was the recipe we used at my bakery and always sold out so i think it's a keeper!
love the look of your cookies so festive and fun!!!

Jen said...

just realized i had posted already at halloween!

http://gronicktales.blogspot.com/2010/10/little-picassos.html

take care.

kh said...

yum yum yummy! i am in love with sugar cookies. can't bake them worth a lick, but man i can eat 'em like nobody's business!

these look fabulous! thanks for sharing the fun tips too!

Jill said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jill said...

blob cookies are calorie free? who knew.....

off to make sugar cookie blobs now ;)

talesofahummingbird said...

skip frosting entirely - you can sprinkle before baking and the sprinkles bake right into the cookies as they fluff up. :)

summer said...

such darling photos, mart!! and i am seriously in love with that text. too perf. it makes me want to go browsing for free fonts again...

as for the tips, i couldn't agree with you more on the "less is more" ingredient list. amen. and thanks for the re-rolling tip from martha! i won't forget.

i should really get a heart shaped cookie cutter. i mean, if you're going to have a cookie cutter, that might as well be the one, right?

ps. love your "hello world" script on the sidebar:)

summer said...

i just noticed your cute rolling pin with the red handles-- ahh! i'm super partial to painted handles on rolling pins. they make my vintage-loving heart happy. is it, in fact, vintage?

Kari said...

And your tried and true recipe? Is it a big secret? Do tell, so I can make a whole batch of calorie-free blobby goodness.

Sarah said...

those look delish!

Travelin'Oma said...

My sugar cookie tip: Send them to TravelinOma.

Lindsay said...

I am the designated sugar cookie baker at Christmas. My tip: make the dough ahead and freeze it. I've used this trick over and over again--especially when I hosted my husband's surprise birthday party (and cut out TONS of 3s and 0s but had nowhere to stash them!). You can defrost the dough in the 'fridge overnight and then it's perfectly chilled for rolling out. LOVE your blog!

jill s said...

can you share the cookie recipe? pretty please? :)

Anonymous said...

Awww I loved this post. Very sweet.

Michelle @ Twig said...

I'm so happy to know that I'm not the only one who cooks up "blob scraps" with my regular cookies lol!

m said...

this is so funny. i have always seen you as the sugar cookie master-
my tip would be to use the recipe i got from you! it is the best and super easy.

ellen said...

I use my Grandmother's recipe with this twist: 1/2 t. vanilla and 1/2 t. almond. They are yummy!

Unknown said...

i wholeheartedly agree about making the dough one day, baking cookies the next and then frosting another. makes the process much more enjoyable!

Sara said...

I *love* these tips! I love cooking, but baking sugar cookies seriously makes me want to drink! I'm going to be a good mama and give it another try...

Cassie said...

Whenever I try mine always go wrong - is that possible? I am now going to follow your handy guidelines. Any chance of popping one in post to England so I can see what they 'should' taste like! ;)
xx

marjnhomer said...

i did the same sugar cookies this weekend but no sprinkles. pics on my blog if you care to take a look..:-)

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