Tasty Tuesday- Sugar Cookies w/icing

In honor of my best friend, Ms. Ashley Dempsey, coming to visit me this weekend in Chicago, I would like to prepare one of her favorite treats... homemade sugar cookies! Her likings for this delicacy goes back to our college days. When we were freshmen, on the meal-plan, we would treat ourselves to at least one, two, or maybe three of the delicious sugar cookies that the dinings halls made on random days of the week. They were devine. The perfect combination of soft centers and crunchy edges with their mouth-watering buttery sweetness inside. Writing this post is making me crave them even more.

After doing some research, I've decided to use the recipe below for the cookie dough and even give some homemade icing a whirl while I am at it. I've never made icing from scratch before so I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. I pulled these recipes from the GREAT, Amy Atlas' blog.

Here is the recipes:

Sugar Cookies:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
(can add 1 1/2 tsp almond extract here. Yummy. I do that.)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and blend well. Add extracts and blend. Mix flour and salt and gradually add. Cover dough with plastic wrap (I usually put mine in a gallon size Ziploc bag) and chill dough for about 2 hours. Working with about 1/3 of the batch at a time, briefly knead the chilled dough and roll about 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes. Bake cut out cookies on parchment lined baking trays at 375 for 12-14 minutes. Note: You can also freeze dough. After mixing, put dough in a gallon size Freezer ziploc bag (or wrap well) and freeze. Thaw overnight or for at least a few hours in the refrigerator in the ziploc bag. If too chilled to handle, let sit at room temperature for about 1/2 hour to 1 hour until it's workable. Chilled is good, though, don't let it get too mushy.

Frosting:
Note: This frosting is similar to royal icing, but I add shortening and flavoring to make it taste delicious. Thus, it dries hard enough to handle and pack when left overnight, but not rock hard, like traditional royal icing. The consistency is NOT the runny kind used for flooding. It's stiffer. Take a spoonful, turn it over the bowl. The frosting should cling to the spoon and slowly fall into the bowl. That's the right consistency.

4 tblsp meringue powder (available at many supermarkets and in most craft stores)
1/2 cup water
6-7 cups confectioner's sugar (may need more or less, see the consistency advice above)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup Crisco

Whip the meringue powder and water on high speed for a looooong time, several minutes, until it's fluffy and peaks form (use an electric hand beater or the wire whisk of your standing mixer). Gradually add the rest of the ingredients to desired consistency. Store at room temperature in a sealed container for up to a month.

Enjoy!!! Much love, xoxo.