Old Fashioned Decorated Soft Sugar Cookies
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Cook time: 
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Serves: 24
 
Ingredients
  • 1 c. butter
  • 2 c. sugar
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • ¼ tsp. almond extract
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 3 eggs
  • 3⅔ c. flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
Instructions
  1. Cream butter with sugar, soda, salt, and flavorings until fluffy.
  2. Add eggs, one at a time.
  3. Add flour and baking powder and beat until combined.
  4. Chill the dough until firm, but if you leave it in the fridge at least overnight or for a few days, the color and flavor will be better.
  5. Roll out on a floured surface (the thicker you roll, the softer the cookies, and the dough is easier to roll out if it's very cold) and bake at 450 degrees 6-8 minutes. Cool on racks, ice and decorate.
Icing
  1. For the icing I just put a bunch of powdered sugar in a bowl and add heavy cream until it is thin enough to brush on smoothly - really a glaze more than a frosting. I brush it on the cookies and let dry.
Notes
Adapted from from the LA Times Cookbook, originally served at the Valley Hunt Club in San Marino, CA (where I took swimming lessons when I was five)
Recipe by The Domestic Front at http://www.thedomesticfront.com/santa-claus-is-coming-to-town-holiday-sugar-cookies/