These Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies are soft, delicate and covered with colored sugar, just the way I remember them from childhood. Orange extract adds brightness and freshness to these cookies, but most folks can't detect the orange flavor unless you tell them about it first. These cookies aren't meant to be frosted or decorated with icing like some more modern sugar cookie recipes.
Preheat oven to 350°F
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
3 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
Colored sanding sugar
Prepare the dough
Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and orange extract until smooth, light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder until blended. Slowly add this flour mixture to the butter mixture while mixing on low. Scrape down the side of the bowl occasionally to ensure even mixing.
Rolling and cutting cookies
Generously flour a pastry board or counter and roll out a portion of the dough until approximately 1/4 inch thick. Add more flour to the top of the dough as you roll it out to keep it from tearing or sticking to rolling pin. Use a cookie cutter to cut out cookies and transfer to silpat lined baking sheet (a greased or non-stick cookie sheet should also work). Sprinkle cutouts with colored sanding sugar as desired.
Bake cookies
Bake for 6 - 10 minutes, depending on thickness of cookies. You don't want to brown these cookies as they just seem to taste overcooked. As soon as you think maybe the absolute edge is maybe starting to brown, remove from oven. Let sit for one minute before transferring to cooling racks. Makes approximately 40 - 60 cookies depending on thickness and diameter/shape of cookies.
Ingredients for making Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies.
Mix room temperature butter until smooth.
Add 3 eggs to butter and mix.
Pour in 1 1/2 cups of sugar and mix until light and fluffy on medium to high speed.
Scrape down sides of bowl to ensure complete mixing.
Add 1 teaspoon of orange extract.
Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Mix on high speed briefly to ensure extacts are fully incorporated and dough is light and fluffy.
Add 2 teaspoons of baking powder to 3 3/4 cups of flour.
Add 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda.
Use whisk to gently mix dry ingredients until blended.
Slowly add dry ingredients while mixing on low.
Scrape down sides of bowl occasionally.
Place fist-sized ball of dough onto well floured pastry board.
Sprinkle flour on top of dough while rolling to prevent sticking.
Use cookie cutter to stamp out cookies.
Lift or slide cutout cookies from pastry board.
Gently sprinkle sugar on top of dough before baking.
If kids are helping, have them pinch some sugar for sprinkling to prevent dumping too much sugar.
Sugared cookies ready for baking.
Place as much or as little sugar on cookies as you like.
Bake for 6-10 minutes (depending on thickness) in 350°F oven until just barely browning.
After letting cookies rest 1 minute, gently remove from cookie sheets.
Let cookies cool on cooling racks.
Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies.
Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies.
Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies.
