Sugar Cookies

By KitchenGnome

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from theslowroasteditalian-printablerecipe.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

makes approximately 36 cookies

In
the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the
butter and sugar, on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3
minutes). Add the eggs, vanilla and almond. Beat until combined. Add
the salt and flour; beat until you have a smooth dough. Divide the dough
in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one
hour or until firm enough to roll.

Preheat oven to 350°F and place rack in top third of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove
one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly
floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. (Keep
turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to
the counter.) Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie
cutter and transfer cookies to baking sheet. Place the baking sheets
with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to
chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing
their shape while baking. Note: If you are not going to frost the baked
cookies, you can sprinkle the unbaked cookies with sparkling sugar.

Bake
cookies for about 8-10 minutes (depending on size) or until the edges
are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on
baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to
finish cooling. Frost with royal icing, if desired. Be sure to let the
royal icing dry completely before storing. (This may take several hours
or overnight.)