tray or cookie sheet - for storing rolled-out dough in the refrigerator
cookie sheet - for baking
metal spatula
wire cooling racks
Ingredients
1large egg
1teaspoonvanilla extract
¼teaspoonalmond extract
¾teaspoonsalt
2 ½cupsall-purpose flour
¼teaspoonbaking powder
¼teaspoonbaking soda
1cupgranulated sugar
1cup (2 sticks)unsalted cold butter
Instructions
Make The Cookie Dough
In a small bowl, beat the egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract and ¾ teaspoon salt until combined.
In another bowl, whisk together 2½ cups flour, ¼ teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon baking soda.
Cut 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter into ½ inch chunks.
Add 1 cup sugar to the food processor. Process for 30 seconds.
Then add in the chunks of cold butter and process until it forms a smooth paste (about 30 seconds).
Pour in the egg mixture and process until combined, about 10 seconds.
Finally, add in the flour mixture and process until all of the flour is incorporated into the dough, about 30 seconds.
Turn out the dough onto the counter and knead it gently for a few seconds until it is smooth.
Roll Out The Dough
Cut the dough in half and make 2 balls out of it.
Put down a large sheet of parchment paper.
Place one of the balls of dough in the middle.
Cover it with another large sheet of parchment paper.
Flatten the ball of dough (inside the parchment paper) with your hands.
Then use a rolling pin to roll it out until it is an even thickness of about 1/8".
Place the rolled-out dough (with the parchment paper still covering it both sides) onto a large cookie sheet or tray.
Repeat the parchment paper and rolling process with the other ball of dough.
Stack it on top of the first sheet of cookie dough.
Chill them in the refrigerator for 1½ hours, or freeze for 30 minutes.
Cut Out The Cookies
When the cookie dough is stiff, pull the first sheet out of the refrigerator (leaving the other one in) and place it on a cutting board.
Remove the top layer of parchment paper. Leave the bottom layer of parchment paper as it is.
Use cookie cutters to make the shapes you want in your dough.
If you are using sugar or sprinkles (but not icing) as decorations, go ahead and put those on now.
Return this layer to the refrigerator.
Repeat the process with the second layer.
Bake The Cookies
Pre-heat the oven to 300°F.
Place the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven.
Cover a cookie sheet with a layer of parchment paper.
Once the dough is chilled again (it should be stiff), run a metal spatula under the cookies to separate them from the parchment paper.
Place them on the parchment-covered cookie sheet about ½ inch apart.
Bake them for 12 to 16 minutes turning them once at the half way point. The cookies are done when they are slightly brown on the bottom but still white on top.
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them sit on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before moving them to wire racks to cool completely.
Repeat the rolling, cooling and cooking process with the left-over cookie dough to make more cookies.
Notes
Using a food processor to combine the ingredients is faster than using a mixer and doesn't require taking the butter out of the refrigerator in advance.
When adding the flour to the mixture, only process as much as is necessary to combine the ingredients. Otherwise, the cookies will turn out too hard.
Similarly, don't roll the dough too much as that will also cause the cookies to be tough.
If the dough is too crumbly, add a little bit more vanilla extract.
If the dough is too sticky, add more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time.
Placing the cookie dough between two sheets of parchment paper before rolling it out will prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin.
Chilling the dough a second time before removing the cut-out cookies from the bottom layer of parchment paper keeps the shapes in tact while they are moved to the cookie sheet.
Baking chilled cookie-dough on parchment paper is what keeps the cookies from spreading in the oven so they hold their shape.
Rimless cookie sheets provide the best even baking. If you don't have one, turn over a regular cookie sheet and use the bottom.
Positioning the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven lets the cookies get a little brown on the bottom without browning the top.
How To Store Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature for up to a week.