the world's best sugar cookies

Custom commissioned Easter Egg cookies for little kiddies!

When I started at my new job, I made friends by bringing in treats. I enjoy making cupcakes most of all, so that is what I brought in. Fast forward a few months, and a co-worker is asking me, "Do you do cookies?" Sure, I do. I make a pretty fab cherry-pistachio-dark chocolate cookie, if I do say so myself! "They're for a bridal shower." Okay, easy enough.

I get back to my desk and up pops an email with a few links to flooded sugar cookies... which I had never, ever made before. She wants little flooded dresses and cakes in pink, white and brown. I had already committed, and I'm the type of person who signs on to things way before knowing the details (obviously), so I was off to find the best recipe for flooded sugar cookies. What I found resulted in the most delicious sugar cookie I've ever had the joy of eating - firm on the outside and soft in the middle, the perfect amount of sweetness, and very little spreading in the oven. 

Since then, I've been commissioned to make Easter eggs (above, sitting on paper towel before being packaged with cello and ribbon) and tiny hard hats for a health and safety BBQ. I guess they're a hit! Try the recipe below and tell me what you think:

The World's Best Sugar Cookies *Note: These cookies aren't nearly as fab without the icing.

Ingredients

For the Cookies

• 1 1/2 c. butter, softened *Note: Do not try to rush the softening. Give it a few hours on the counter.
• 2 c. white sugar
• 4 eggs, free-range preferable
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract)
• 5 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt 

For the Piped Icing:

• 2 large egg whites
• 2 tsp. clear vanilla extract (or almond extract, lemon juice, etc.)
• 6 c. powdered sugar, preferably sifted

For the Flood Icing:

• 2 large pasteurized egg whites
• 2 tsp. clear vanilla extract (or almond extract, lemon juice, etc.)
• 3 c. powdered sugar, preferably sifted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, cream together softened butter and white sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla paste/extract. Slowly stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Divide dough into two patties, wrap in Saran and chill for at least one hour.
3. Roll out dough on floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes and place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until edges just begin to become golden. When finished, remove from baking pan onto a flat surface to cool completely before icing.

1. To make icing (two separate batches), beat together egg whites, vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth.
2. Transfer the thicker icing to a pastry bag with a writing tip. Transfer runnier icing to a squeeze bottle.
3. Pipe thicker icing on the cooled cookies to create a flood border. Allow to set until firm to the touch.
4. Squeeze runny icing into center of the cookie and spread with an offset spatula/knife/toothpick to the edges of the cookie until the top of the cookie looks smooth. Remember to pop air bubbles with a toothpick. Dry for at least 12 hours before packaging.

i'm the one who makes the cake and eats it too!

I am the Sugared Spatula, a baking enthusiast and connoisseur; I measure, scoop, blend, frost and drizzle to get away from the stresses of the everyday. I'm here to share the good, to forget the bad and the ugly, and to add a little sweetness to brighten my day (and by extension, yours too!)

My recipes come from a collection of the written and the wonderous. I am an artist by education, a gallerina by employment, and a baker by passion. My practice has evolved from the studio to the kitchen, and this is where I spend my time with a pug at my side, and a spoonful of freshly beaten cake batter in my mouth. This is what I love, and what I gravitate to; it is how I relax and how I show others that I care. I need baking.

Join me to develop this little spot into somewhere that we can share our sweet eats together and continue to develop our skills as hobby bakers. If you love baking just as much as I do, or you're simply a lover of all things sugar, then take a seat (and a spoon) and stay for a while. ~SS