Sugar Cookies with Butter Frosting
Classic roll-and-cut sugar cookies with a hint of lemon, finished with a simple almond butter frosting you can tint any colour. A holiday and birthday staple.
Servings: 36 cookies
Ingredients
For the sugar cookies
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp lemon extract
For the butter frosting
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 cups icing sugar
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 4-5 tbsp milk or cream
- food colouring several drops, if desired
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix well. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. (A food processor works well for this.)
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until light. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extracts. Add to the flour mixture and stir until a dough forms, kneading a bit by hand if needed to mix in the dry ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. On a lightly floured surface (or between two sheets of parchment), roll out 1/3 of the dough at a time to about 1/8-inch thick, keeping the remaining dough refrigerated. Cut shapes with floured cookie cutters and place 1 inch apart on the parchment-lined sheets. (If you don't plan to frost them, decorate with coloured sugar or sprinkles before baking.)
- Bake 6–11 minutes, until the edges are light golden brown. Be careful — they go from not done to overdone in a heartbeat, so check at 6 minutes and then watch closely. Remove immediately from the cookie sheets and cool on wire racks.
- Butter frosting: Beat all the frosting ingredients together until light and fluffy. Divide between several small bowls and colour each separately, if desired. Frost the cookies only once they are completely cool.
Notes
Watch them closely: Sugar cookies overbake fast — start checking at 6 minutes and pull at the first hint of golden edges.
Chill the dough: An hour in the fridge firms it for clean rolling and crisp cut-out shapes.
Work in batches: Roll 1/3 at a time and keep the rest cold so it stays easy to handle.
Frost when cool: Only frost fully cooled cookies, or the icing will slide off.
Nutrition
Calories: 155kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 60mg | Potassium: 20mg | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 200IU | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg