Basic Sugar Cookies

A sugar cookie can be dressed up for any occasion or holiday.  You name it, you can use it to decorate a sugar cookie.  However, the best way for a sugar cookie to be, in my opinion, is just as it is.  No frosting, no decorating, no fuss, no muss.  Simple and beautiful.  Either way, however you like to enjoy your sugar cookies, this recipe is for you!  It's tasty, sweet, and easy to create.  The sugar cookies made here were decorated for Halloween. (but I did keep a few unfrosted for the hubby and I ;-))

Ingredients:

- 2 3/4 cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Mix together your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and your pinch of salt in a bowl.  Set aside.

2.  Grab another larger bowl and place in your butter and sugar.  Cream together until well mixed.  I use my electric mixer and then squish it a bit with my CLEAN hands.  This just seems to incorporate the sugar and butter a lot better.

3.  Now toss in your egg and vanilla and continue to beat together until well mixed.  Now toss in your dry mixture, continue to mix until that mixture is well combined.  I like to use my electric mixer until it's almost there, then switch to my hands again. 

4.  Now that you have dough, you can either make them into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet that way, or you can dust your counter top and create shapes.  Here, since it was Halloween, I cut mine out into pumpkin shapes. 

5.  Now, bake for 8-12 minutes or until they're a nice light golden color.  Remove, allow to sit for 1 minute, then remove to a rack for cooling.  Once cooled, you can frost or decorate to your heart's content. 

Here's the final product.....

Very festive, fun, and tasty!  Enjoy!