sugar cookies

growing up i made rolled sugar cookies out of the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook, but i was never satisfied with the flavor. they seemed too floury or too eggy or too bready.

but a few weeks ago i made these sugar cookies with the girls and they are the BEST sugar cookies i have ever made. they are thin and tender-yet-crunchy and intensely sweet without tasting bready. we made them again today in heart shapes with pink and red sprinkles for February.

the original recipe came from Martha Stewart's website and called for icing. i omit the icing and have made other small alterations and am thrilled with this recipe. it's ideal for small children to help with and very simple to put together.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (or substitute milk)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

preheat oven to 350'. in a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. separately in a mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. add egg, vanilla, and Grand Marnier to butter mixture and stir until combined. slowly add flour mixture and stir until just combined.

form into a ball and roll out on lightly floured surface to 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. cut into shapes with cookie cutters and place on lightly greased cookie sheets. add sprinkles.

bake ONLY ten minutes. do not let them brown. they will be slighly soft when you remove them from the oven, but they will crisp up as they cool.

yields about 4 cookie sheets full of cookies.