Sugar Cookies - for baby's day out!!

I've been so excited to share this post , but wasn't getting enough time with the baby, household chores and grocery shoppings :-)

I had taken my little one to my office last week and I wanted to take something sweet for my colleagues. Obviously I wanted a simple recipe which I could prepare without getting interrupted ;-)
Finally I found this really simple recipe for Sugar cookies and I must say they came out really well for my first time try. They were so good, it just melted in your mouth.

Thanks to my little sweetheart , I got the time to frost and decorate the cookies (he was sleeping , ofcourse!)
It almost felt like an Arts and Craft project to prepare the colored frosting and creating the different designs  :-) I totally enjoyed it.

I'm not a big fan of Sugar cookies loaded with sugary frosting, so I made two kinds. One batch with colorful sugar frosting (for a child like theme) and the other batch with chocolate drizzled on them...Yumm!
Also I'm glad to say that everyone in office loved it! We had a good time and the baby totally enjoyed his day out at my office :-)

I used a star shape to cut out my cookies, you can use whichever shape you like.  The only variation I did from the original recipe was to skip the almond extract as I do not like its taste, instead I used extra vanilla extract.

I will definitely make these again. Its so easy to make them and anyone from kids to adults can enjoy them.
Sugar cookies are a great treat for any season!

Sugar Cookies Recipe
Recipe source: Annie's Eats

You'll need :
2 ½ cups flour - sifted
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract ( As per original recipe use: 1tsp vanilla and 1.5tsp almond extract )
1 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Using a hand or electric beater cream the butter.
2. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
3. Blend in egg, almond extract (I din't use this), vanilla extract, salt and flour.
4. Chill the dough until firm. (For about an hour)
5. Roll to ¼” thickness on well-floured surface.
6. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on greased cookie sheets.(I used a silicone baking mat on my cookie sheet to place the cookies)
7. Bake at 375° for 8-10 min. Cookies should not brown.
8. Frost and decorate when cool. Yields about 40 cookies.

For sugar frosting: I used store bought Wilton Icing writer, Wilton White decorating icing and used Wilton Gel food Color to get the different colors. Also used some colored sprinkles.

For the chocolate drizzle:
Melt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips with 4tbsp butter.
Pour it into a piping bag or Ziploc bag and snip off the tip
Place the cookies over a wire rack over your baking sheet and drizzle the chocolate onto the cookies as shown.

Suggestions: The cookie dough should be rolled to an even thickness, else some cookies may burn (if thinner than the rest) 

I somehow felt my cookies had a slightly salty aftertaste, so I would suggest adding just a pinch of salt instead of 1tsp as per actual recipe. 

Try them out, they are so easy to make and can be enjoyed even without any frosting. Its that good!

Sending this post to Bake Fest #1 Event hosted by Vardhini of Zesty Palette.

Sending this post to Bake with your Heart event hosted by Khushi.

 Cookie Party hosted by Shema of Lifescoops

- Manju