Prizewinning Sugar Cookies
This is our family Christmas sugar cookie recipe! We also use it for any other holiday that calls for a cookie. They are soft with a yummy vanilla sugar flavor. They store really well so they can be made in advance.
We decorate the cookies very simply. Just ice them and then sprinkle with colored sugar. It’s always a very festive fun time with the kids and also a very messy time. Lol!
The history on this recipe is intriguing. Back when we were Amish, our church services were four hours long and the little kids would get hungry and restless so at a certain point in the service a big bowl of sugar cookies and saltine crackers would be passed around for the children. Whoever hosted the Sunday church service at their place always made the cookies and provided the crackers. As a kid, it was the best thing ever, the yummy sugar cookie with the salty cracker. I still remember the saltine crackers being the big squares made up of the four small squares we have today.
Anyway, when it was my mom’s turn to bake those church cookies, she’d use this recipe just with less flour so she could drop them on the pan and bake them. And then when Christmas came around, she’d add more flour and roll them out for cutout cookies. I’m guessing at some point in time they won a prize and got the name Prizewinning Sugar Cookies.
Happy Baking,
~Rachel Ballinger ☕️💕
Prizewinning Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
- 5 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 cups all purpose flour
Icing:
- 1 stick butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoon milk
- 1 bag powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl cream together sugar and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.
- Refrigerate for an hour or longer.
- On a floured surface roll out the dough to 1/4” inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheets and bake for about 10-12 minutes.
- Place cookies on parchment paper and let cool completely.
- While cookies are cooling, prepare the icing.
Icing:
- Cream butter till smooth. Add the vanilla and milk and slowly add the powdered sugar as you mix it all together till smooth. Color the icing as desired with food coloring and ice the cookies.