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Sugar cookies are a simple and versatile treat that can be shaped and decorated for holidays. They originated in the medieval Arab world and have evolved over time. The dough is easy to make and can be customized with added ingredients. Royal icing is recommended for decorating to avoid making the cookies soggy.
Sugar cookies are tender cookies with crispy edges made from a very simple dough that’s easy to manipulate with added ingredients for cooks who get bored of the simple flavor of the original sugar cookie. These simple cookies are associated with many people’s holidays. Because the dough is designed to be rolled out and cut into shapes with cookie cutters, cooks can create an assortment of holiday cookies and decorate them with frosting and candy. Many bakeries carry sugar cookies, for people who don’t want to make them at home.
The earliest form of the sugar cookie probably originated in the medieval Arab world, when cooks made sweet cakes with sugar, flour, and shortening. These cakes spread throughout Europe and were brought to the New World with European settlers. Around 1700, the modern form of the sugar cookie emerged in Nazareth, Pennsylvania where German settlers made cookies that came to be known as Nazareth Sugar Cookies.
To make the sugar cookies, sift together three and one-half cups of flour, one teaspoon of baking powder, and one-quarter teaspoon of salt and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk one cup of the butter and then mix in one and a half cups of the sugar. Beat two eggs and two teaspoons of vanilla into the butter-sugar mixture, then mix in the dry ingredients. The resulting dough should be refrigerated to make it easier to work with before rolling it out.
Once the dough has cooled, you can break it into manageable pieces and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut shapes into the dough, and bake your cookies on an unleavened cookie sheet at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius) until the edges begin to brown. Cool cookies on rack and freeze as desired or serve plain.
A common problem with sugar cookies is that the frosting can make them slightly soggy, especially if they sit for several days before being eaten. You may find that royal icing forms a lighter crust that doesn’t make the cookies mushy. It’s made with two egg whites, two teaspoons of lemon juice, and three cups of powdered sugar; you can separate the icing into small bowls after mixing it and use food coloring to create colorful icings.
In addition to making basic sugar cookie dough, you can make spicy sugar cookie dough by adding ingredients like ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon, or you can add things like chopped walnuts for a richer, nuttier flavor. Basic sugar cookie dough is quite tolerant of minor changes and manipulations, such as substituting the orange or almond extract for vanilla, so feel free to experiment.
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