Ingredients

• • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons milk, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sugar for dredging, if desired
  • Melted chocolate, spices, icing or frosting to taste (see variations)

Directions

• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

  Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy. In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, milk and vanilla extract.

  Add the sifted dry ingredients and egg mixture to the butter and sugar alternately in three additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. After each addition, mix on low speed just until fully incorporated.

  Gather the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.

  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. For dark or coated pans, or for soft cookies without a crisp edge, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line several sheet pans with parchment paper.

  Portion the dough by rounded tablespoon. If desired, pour 1 cup of sugar into a small bowl and dredge each cookie in the sugar before placing it on a prepared pan. Leave 1 to 2 inches between cookies. Flatten each cookie slightly with the palm of your hand.

  Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating pans halfway through cooking. Remove the pans from the oven just as a hint of brown appears at the edges. The centers should appear slightly under-cooked. Rest the cookies in the hot pan for 10 minutes. Remove them to a cooling rack.

Tips and Variations

• Tips:

  • Do not over-mix the dough, as this toughens the cookies.
  • Add 1/4 cup cream cheese to the dough for a cake-like texture and puffier cookie.
  • Add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup to the dough for a slightly chewier cookie.
  • For cut-out sugar cookies, omit the baking powder. Divide the dough into two pieces, flatten them into disks, and wrap and chill them. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thick maintain a soft interior but crisp outside. Cut it into shapes and bake.
  • For crispier sugar cookies, roll dough into logs before chilling. Slice the logs into 3/16-inch-thick pieces and bake them, removing the cookies once they begin to brown around the edges.
  • For tender cookies that spread less, replace the butter with shortening, as the higher melting point allows the other ingredients to set first. However, this reduces the overall richness of the cookies and more closely resembles a commercial taste than homemade.

  Variations:

  • Add 1 to 2 teaspoons almond extract and omit the vanilla extract for a nutty flavor.
  • For chocolate sugar cookies, add 3 ounces melted bittersweet chocolate, cooled to room temperature, before mixing in the eggs and flour.
  • Make spiced sugar cookies by adding 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
  • For light, summery sugar cookies, add 2 tablespoons citrus zest. Try fresh lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit zests in combinations to taste.

Finishing Touches

• • Spread a thin layer of chocolate hazelnut spread, Italian buttercream, raspberry jam or nut butter on the side of one sugar cookie. Press another cookie against the first for a cookie sandwich.
  • Prepare a simple royal icing by whisking 3 tablespoons meringue powder, 5 tablespoons warm water and 4 cups sifted confectioners sugar with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until peaks form. Alternatively, prepare the icing with 3 egg whites, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 4 cups sifted confectioners sugar. Use pasteurized egg whites to reduce the risk of salmonella. Spread the top of each sugar cookie, drop or cutout with the icing or pipe designs onto each cookie with a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
  • Before baking, sprinkle decorating sugar of varying colors over each cookie for a festive look. Alternatively, sprinkle the sugar over iced cookies.