too cute to eat

My friend made one request for her birthday last month. She showed me a picture of these cookies and I told her I would make them for her. I couldn't resist the challenge!

I showed the picture to my dad who whipped up a cookie cutter like it was nothing. The recipe came from my mom who has been using it to make sugar cookies since I was little.

Dough -
1 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Let the dough sit in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours (over night works too). Roll, cut, then bake at 375 for 7 to 8 minutes or until done.

Frosting -
powdered sugar
milk
almond extract (or whatever flavor you prefer)
food coloring optional

The frosting all depends on how you like it. Put some powdered sugar into a bowl and add small amounts of milk until you get the right consistency that you're after. Mix in a tiny amount of flavor extract (a little goes a long way) and food coloring. You might have to add a bit more sugar to make up for the liquids you just added.

Tips for perfect sugar cookies:

- Make sure your dough is cold before you cut. If your dough is room temp you'll never end up with the shape you're after.

- Roll your dough flat with powdered sugar. Dry floury cookies? No thanks. Cut back on extra flour by rolling out with powdered sugar. It sounds like a simple solution but this can get pretty messy pretty quick. The flour absorbs moisture while the sugar just gets sticky. So work quick and keep things cold.

- Bake your cookies on parchment paper. And this goes for all cookies. When you bake on parchment as soon as the cookies come out of the oven you can slide the paper right off the baking sheet and on to the counter to cool. This also keeps the sheet clean. Oh parchment paper... How I love thee.