My Favorite Cookie - Christmas isn't the same with out it

Ok I admit it I like to cook sometimes. I have even started collecting some great cook books.
and in my quest for the perfect sugar cookie After facing the task of making cookies for Zoe school and other holidays. ( she loves to help cut them out )I finally hit upon a good recipe that is easy and freakin delicious. I have combined the good things of several recipes and come up with this great recipe. What I love about this recipe: I could just eat all the dough and be happy. When they bake they do not swell and loose there shape. They taste great even with out the frosting. Just sprinkle with sugar before baking and I'm good to go.

Here it is.

Sugar Cookies


Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ cups baker’s sugar, or super fine sugar (not powdered sugar)
2 large eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder

Method:

Cream together with electric mixer, butter, cream cheese, and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the creamed mixture until smooth.

Divide dough into three equal parts. Place one portion of dough onto a piece of parchment or wax paper. Place an other sheet of paper on top. Roll dough with rolling pin to the desired thickness. (1/8”). Repeat with other two portions of dough. Place them on a cookie sheet and chill until firm. Remove one “flat” of dough at a time. Peel back the paper from one side. Cut the desired shapes and transfer to cookie sheets. If dough is sticking to the bottom paper you can peel it back and replace it .to loosen it prior to cutting. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with colored or plain sugar. (unless you plan to frost the cookie).

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees

Bake for 10 – 12 minutes… depending on the size of you cutouts.

Cookies should just start to turn gold around the edges.


NOTE:
You can make your own super fine sugar by putting sugar in a food processor for 10 seconds. The benefits of the super fine sugar is a cookie that is less crumbly and has a smoother texture. Its worth the effort

Flavors: to give these cookies a different taste you can add things like grated orange or lemon zest, grated chocolate, cocoa, finely chopped nuts, or flavored extracts.

Cream cheese frosting.
combine the following ingredients and beat until smooth.

6 oz. cream cheese
2/3 cup unsalted butter at room temp.
4 cups confectioners sugar... sifted
2 T. milk
1 T. vanilla
food coloring if desired