‘Tis the season to be jolly and eat lots of carbs and sugar too! But really… but really what? You know it’s true! Sugar cookies and winter holidays go together like peanut butter and jelly. I am not a great baker… I am passable. I am great at following directions to prepare and bake cookies but lack the imagination to frost them in a pretty way. As long as there is a cookie and some frosting, you bet I’ll eat it! I could care less about what it looks like. My palette isn’t that discerning when cookies are involved. Did you know that “cookie” was my first word? That should have been a sign of some sort.
Anyways, my neighbor, we’ll call her Josephine March (not her real name because you know… privacy and crazy cookie stalkers may read this) makes THE BEST cookies I have ever had. AND they are pretty. It’s enough to make me super jealous but not enough to stop me from eating any treats that she may share with me. I recently asked her for one of her yummy recipes and not only was I pleasantly surprised by the source of her recipe but by the easy instructions and prep- even an amateur baker like me couldn’t mess this up too much! Her super soft sugar cookie recipe is from none other than the critically acclaimed novel, “Clifford Wants A Cookie.”
Without further ado, here is the recipe…
Clifford’s Sugar Cookies:
Ingredients
- 1 cup of butter, softened
- ⅔ cup of sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 ½ cups flour
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
Cream your butter and sugar mixture until fluffy and, well, creamy. Add your egg and vanilla and mix until well integrated (about another 2 minutes). Add the flour and salt until well blended. Form the dough into a big ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours… yes, 3 hours. Don’t take any shortcuts. After the 3 hours, roll out the dough on a nicely floured surface and shape with your favorite cookie cutters. Or, if you are like me, don’t roll and shape them on a nicely floured surface but instead, take the dough from the fridge and pull apart to make littler balls about an inch (or a little more) in width and bake them as drop cookies. Bake at 350 F for 9-11 minutes. The bottoms should be just turning brown. When you take them out, they may seem a little fluffy and this is ok! They will settle as they cool. Let them rest for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let them cool before frosting… Finally, frost to your heart’s desire. I make my frosting (that’s about as fancy as I get) or buy your favorite brand from your local grocery store’s baking aisle.
Make a plate for yourselves, settle in with a good movie, a snuggly blanket, and enjoy yourself. Be safe this week. Make good decisions and to those of you that celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas to you and yours.
The Salty Exchange 