Plain Soft Sugar Cookies

Plain Soft Sugar Cookies

This is the original soft sugar cookies. You may want to vary with various flavouring using mint, almond or orange or lemon or chocolate (be versatile). They are easy peasy and extremely addictive. If you do not care too much about the shapes, you may just roll the dough by hand and bake them. Otherwise, you may press the dough out using a cookie press. Good for cookie exchange or as gifts for Christmas, special occasions or just for your daily dose of dessert with your favourite mocha! Recipe was adapted from Gemma Stafford's Bigger Bolder Baking.

Utensils needed:-

Mixing bowls

Stand mixer (if you do not have one, you may use a hand held mixer)

Measuring cups and bowls

Spatula

Cookie baking sheet

Parchment paper (I used silicone mat)

Whisk
Scrapper or butter knife

Ingredients:-

3/4 cups unsalted butter at room temperature

3/4 cups minus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

3 teaspoons pure almond essence (you may use any other pure flavourings)

2 large eggs at room temperature

2 1/4 cups flour * (If you live in a different country, you might want to vary the amount of flour slightly if your cookies turned out too hard or too soft. If too hard, reduce the amount of flour and if too soft, add a little more).

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup skim milk powder

Decorative sugars (optional)

Food colouring (optional)

Method:-

1. Measure and place butter and sugar into the mixing bowl. Turn on stand mixer and beat using the paddle beater, until butter and sugar become light and fluffy.

2. Crack eggs into a small bowl. Add one egg at a time to the butter mixture and beat until egg is combined before adding the other. Repeat and beat until all eggs are combined into the butter mixture.

3. Add pure almond essence and beat until combined.

4. Add 4-5 drops of food colouring if using, and beat until combined.

5. Measure all the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, salt and milk powder, into a large bowl. Whisk gently to combine with a wire whisk.

6. Add all the dry ingredients to the butter mixture all at once. Turn on mixer to slow speed to combine the dry and wet ingredients. Turn off mixer once the mixture  becomes dough form.

7. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto the surface.

8. Gather the dough and gently pat into a thick round disc. If you wish, you can shape the dough into a round log. Wrap with plastic food cling wrap and place into a plastic bag to chill in the fridge for at least one day. *Dough must be refrigerated for at least one day and shaped when cold so that cookies can keep their shapes when baked.*

9. On the next day, preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Remove cookie dough from fridge. Divide into equal small bite size portions and roll in your palms into round globes.

10. Place onto a lined baking sheet with space in between each dough and bake for 8-9 minutes until the cookie is firm to touch and lightly brown at the bottom. Do not over bake!

11. Remove from oven. Let it cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight cookie tin and serve when desired.

Keeps for 4-5 days (if they are not gobbled up in a day)! Enjoy! Wishing everyone a "Merry & Joyous Christmas"!