The Perfect Shaped Sugar Cookie {Rudolph Cookies}

Oh sugar cookies! How we love you! Over the past couple of months we have decided to give the sugar cookie making a try and have tested out a few different recipes trying to find the perfect one! You know those sugar cookies that look like they were professionally done? Perfect shape…perfectly iced?! Well today we are sharing how to make the perfect shaped sugar cookie and some tips on icing them.

For our holiday shoot we felt like it was only fitting to serve sugar cookies. This time of year it seems like everyone is decorating gingerbread houses and making holiday shaped cookies with their families. Today we will show you how to make the cutest polka dot Rudolph cookies that are perfect for your holiday festivities coming up!

The Perfect Sugar Cookie Recipe:
INGREDIENTS:

-  6 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 2 cups {4 sticks} unsalted butter, softened for about 20 minutes at room temperature

- 2 cups sugar

- 2 large eggs, cold

- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

- 1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract {optional}

DIRECTIONS

1. In large bowl, sift together flour and salt. Set aside.
2. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy and pale for about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs.
3. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Add vanilla and lemon extract and blend.
4. Remove 1/2 of dough from bowl and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet or board. Roll out until you have a thin layer of dough about 1/4″ thick. Use a little extra flour on top of the dough from sticking the to roller. Repeat this step with the remaining dough.
5. Remove one cookie sheet with chilled dough. Using the cookie cutter of your choice cut out shapes of dough and put them on a new cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Once you have filled up the cookie sheet with cookie cut-outs place back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking.
6. Repeat above steps for additional chilled dough until you have cut out all of your cookies.
7. Preheat your oven to 325° F. Bake 12-14 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.
8. Let cookies cool before decorating.

Now comes the icing! After you have perfectly shaped cookies the icing is what really finishes off the presentation! If you have every tried to ice a cookie you might know that it can be a little tricky the first time and might require a little playing around until you get the right consistency. There is so much to talk about with icing and we have some great tips to share. We will be doing another post with icing directions soon so watch for it!