Christmas Cookie Of The Day: Amanda’s Sugar Cookies

Today we've chosen to share listener Amanda's sugar cookie recipe!

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
3 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

 
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. **Soften the butter, do not melt it. Also she thinks the dough turns out better if you stick the eggs in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes.** Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight). This step is not mandatory, but she think it makes a better dough.
Preheat oven to 350.
Roll little pieces of dough between palms to make perfectly round. She usually uses about 1-2 tbps of dough for each.
Place cookies 1 inch apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake 8-10 minutes in preheated oven.
Cool completely before frosting

Buttercream frosting

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk (whole milk for more creamy)

In a large bowl, cream butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Add salt, vanilla, confectioners' sugar and milk. Beat well. She softens the butter but does not melt it completely.
If you prefer a more cream cheese type frosting you can add little soften bits of cream cheese to the frosting mix until you get the flavor you like best.
***She prefers to use European butter. You can find it at Meijer or Horrocks. It is called Plugra. She likes to get the unsalted, but if you do get the unsalted add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. I enjoy the salty little bites in the dough. If you do not then just use regular salted butter. Or you can just add a little extra salt sprinkles to the top of the frosting when you are adding the sugar sprinkles for color.