Buttery Sugar Cookies

It's my party and I'll be sick if I want to... sniff sniff

Stuffy head, runny nose, fever, phelgm-y cough and watery eyes. That was the gift my son received the day before his 3rd birthday party. It wasn't a pretty sight nor was it pleasant to listen to. Poor lil guy.

This past weekend, we had planned a Gym Birthday Party with about 30 kids along with their parents. Unfortunately, I had to cancel. It just wasn't happening.

I was preparing all week getting goodie bags together for the kids, planning the menu and preparing everything we needed for a fun birthday party for my love. My lil man and I made these Williams Sonoma sugar cookies before he came down with a horrible cold.

He was so excited to help and we even practiced his ABC's as we were using the cookie cutters. I asked him to find a specific letter (one he knew of course, he hasn't learned the entire alphabet yet) and he pointed to the corresponding one. Piaget based learning method truly works well with toddlers.

Thirty plus cookies have now dwindled down to by half. After giving some away to the in laws, some to neighbors and eating some ourselves, I'll say we are just about cookie-d out. I could possibly fit one more in. Maybe.

Printable Recipe
Ingredients
Courtesy of Williams Sonoma with Modifications
2-1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour (I used 5 Cups)
1/2 tsp Salt (I used 1 tsp)
1-1/2 Sticks Unsalted Butter at room temperature (I used 2-3/4 sticks)
1 Cup Sugar (I used 1-3/4 cups)
Food Coloring Gel (optional, I did not use any)
1 Egg (I used 2 eggs)
1-1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract (I used 3 tsp)
Williams Sonoma's Message in a Cookie comes with the cutter you see below and a heart and star shape

Directions
1. Over  a large bowl sift the flour and salt. Set aside. In your stand alone mixer fitted with the flat beater or by hand, beat the butter on high speed for 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, slowly add the sugar (this is where you may add a few drops of food coloring if you wish) and beat for 2 minutes, stopping the mixer once to scrap down the sides of the bowl.

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for 1 minute, scrapping down the sides once. Stop the mixer and add half the flour mixer, beat on low speed until the flour has been absorbed. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until all the flour has been incorporated and the dough starts to pull away from the side, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Turn the dough on a work surface area and divide into two equal balls. Shaping each into a disk and wrapping tightly in saran wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to two days.

3. Preheat oven to 350º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.

When you're ready to roll out the dough, allow the refrigerated dough to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface area, roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick.

You can dip the message cookie cutter into flour if you wish. I did not and the dough did not stick. Press the cookie cutter firmly down and pull the knob up to remove the cookie cutter. (Note: DO NOT PUSH THE KNOB DOWN like my love is doing in the photo above, this will leave a mark on your cookies, as evident in the photo below). 

Gather up the remaining dough, roll out and repeat until you have used up all the dough. You could also decorate the cookies to your liking.

At this time you may refrigerate the stamped dough for 20 to 30 minutes before baking if you wish. I did not.

The cookies were buttery and not too sweet. They'd make the perfect ice cream sandwich cookie too.

So, we re-scheduled my loves party. But not until next year. The Gym is booked through December. So my lil man will have to wait until 2011 to celebrate with his friends. Stay tuned.

Happy Baking!