How to Make Butter Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies--just the thought of them invokes all sorts of comforting feelings. Whether you make sugar cookies for a special occasion, a holiday or just to keep in the cookie jar, making them into "butter" sugar cookies adds extra rich flavor everyone will enjoy. To make sugar cookies into butter sugar cookies, simply use butter for your shortening. Roll the dough out and cut into shapes for holidays or for fun, then decorate with sprinkles, cinnamon or homemade butter frosting. Whatever your reason for wanting to make butter sugar cookies, follow this recipe for a tasty treat.

Things You'll Need

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons shortening for greasing cookie sheet
• Cookie sheet
• 1/4 cup flour for sprinkling cookie sheet
• Oven
• Rolling pin
• Cookie cutters
• Spatula

Instructions

Making Butter Sugar Cookies

1. Put the softened butter in a bowl and add 1 cup sugar. If the butter is not soft already, put it in the microwave for 10 seconds.

2. Put the egg in the bowl with the butter and mix it up well with a mixer or by hand.

3. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl.

4. Add the vanilla to the milk.

5. Slowly add the dry mixture to the egg and sugar mixture a little at a time. As you add a little of the dry mixture, add a little of the milk and vanilla mixture. Alternate adding the ingredients until they have all been completely added.

6. Mix all ingredients together well, then put the batter in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

7. Grease a cookie sheet and put a dusting of flour on it. Twenty minutes before taking the batter from the refrigerator, set the oven for 350 degrees F. and let it preheat.

8. Remove the batter from the refrigerator after the hour is up, and roll it out until it is 1/4 inch thick. Roll it on a surface that has been coated with flour to make lifting the cookie shapes easier.

9. 

   Cut out the shapes you desire with a cookie cutter. Lift them with a spatula and place them on the cookie sheet. Space them so there is at least an inch between them.

10. Put the cookies in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove after 15 minutes and let them cool on a cooling rack before decorating. This recipe makes approximately 36 cookies.

Tips & Warnings

• If you would like your sugar cookies thicker and softer, roll them out to 1/2 inch thick instead of 1/4 inch thick.

• Keep an eye on your cookies while they are in the oven. If they begin to brown on the edges, remove them. Cooking times will vary with different ovens, so keep track of how they bake in your oven and adjust the next batch accordingly.

Resources

• Cookie baking tips
• How to make icing for decorating cookies