Milk & Cookies: Vanilla Sugar Cookies

A good sugar cookie can make anyone's day better. I have used several recipes throughout the years and have a couple of favorites. There are a few secrets to making a delicious sugar cookie that is easy to roll and cut out. The first is time and chilling the dough. If you skip this step, your cookies will run at the sides and lose their shape which will make you a sad cookie. The second secret is the use of high quality ingredients and a little bit of citrus zest. I like orange, but lemon or lime also give a nice little zing to the cookies. You don't need much, but when you mix it into the sugar, it gives a freshness to an otherwise bland tasting dough. I love Vanilla Bean Paste! I use it in place of vanilla extract in all of my baking. The portion is equal but it's a bit thicker and has actual vanilla bean in it and transforms any recipe.

I came across a fun new toy, Message Cookie Cutters. Williams-Sonoma sells the set for about $20 and it comes with three cutters and alphabet sets so you can personalize your cookies with a message. You slide the letters into the cutters and viola, your sugar cookies are better than conversation hearts on Valentine's day!

The recipe included in the kit is pretty good if you add citrus zest and use vanilla bean paste.

A great sugar cookie doesn't always need icing but my friend Blair asked for a good icing recipe to use. Icing is another great way to dress up a cookie and personalize it for a special event or holiday. Blair writes a blog and is an amazingly creative event planner in Southern California! Blair Britt Events Blog, click here!

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

2 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp good salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
Zest 1/4 orange, or 1/2 lemon or lime
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

Sift together the flour and salt, set aside. Zest the citrus into the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on medium until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add in the egg and vanilla bean paste and mix until light and fluffy. Add in the flour in two segments, mixing until just combined. Turn out the dough and form into two discs and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least two hours. Roll out the dough using additional flour and cut into shapes. Chill the cutout cookies on a parchment lined sheet pan for 20-30 minutes in the fridge or 5 minutes in the freezer. Bake at 350 degrees F until the bottoms just start to turn golden, 12-15 minutes. let sit on the sheet pan for 5 minutes to cool before transferring to a cooling rack.

Sugar Cookie Icing

4 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 T cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
Pinch of good salt
1 1/2-2 tsp good vanilla

Beat all ingredients until smooth. Add gel color if desired. Icing will set up quickly. If this happens, place on a Bain Marie (double boiler) to soften, or in the microwave for 10 seconds.