Sugar Cookies with Berry Icing

There's something so simple yet elegant about a well executed sugar cookie. It's a dessert that can instantly send me back to cutting out shapes with my dad at Christmas. I make them every year for Christmas and again at Valentine's Day simply because I miss them so much. But honestly, they should be a year-round treat.

I have made this recipe for my class every year. And every year, students ask for more. Or they ask for the recipe, at the very least. Last year, I had a former student come up to me nearly every day to ask me to make these cookies for her. Yes, they are that good.

Sugar Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 egg (room temperature)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 cups of flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Recipe:

1. Cream together softened butter and sugar for about 2 minutes.
2. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar, in approximately four increments, mixing in between. Continue to mix until smooth, without any clumps.
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for one to three hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 350.
7. Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge. Roll out onto a floured surface and make your shapes using the desired cookie cutters. Alternatively, you can cut shapes out by hand using a butter knife.
8. Bake for 6-10 minutes, or until cookies are firm and slightly golden.

Berry Icing:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons flavored gelatin powder (such as Jell-O)
• 1/2 cup hot water

Recipe:

1. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl.
2. Add flavored gelatin powder (I recommend strawberry or raspberry). Whisk together.
3. While whisking, slowly add in hot water in a steady stream.
4. Continue whisking until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add more hot water. If the icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
5. Top cookies with icing using a knife, by dipping into a bowl of icing, or by piping, depending on desired design and the thickness of the icing. You can even combine flavors, like this young lady below.