Posted by Katie Lane
It's finals time. I'm way busy. Who isn't?
The logical thing would be to set aside non-essential activities in order to focus on passing my classes. But nope, not me.
I think have baked more in the past week than I have all semester. It is, after all, the ultimate stress buster.
First, you can procrastinate by browsing hundreds of drool-worthy recipes online. Then you can waste at least a couple of hours in the kitchen actually making the darn things. To top it off, you can wallow in your stress by scarfing down some freshly baked cookies, cupcakes or anything chocolate with your equally stressed housemates.
But really, who am I fooling? Stress is stress and not even these cheery sugar cookies can write a paper or study for an exam for you.
They can, however, remind you that the holidays are right around the corner. We can all take a break, a breath, and recharge a bit. Sometimes, though, you just need a little holiday cheer to push through to the real thing.
We are trying as hard as we can over here at my house of diverse faiths and traditions. We have a tiny Christmas tree, topped with the Star of David, and we have a menorah. We have lights (thanks Elaine!), we have cranberry bread (thanks Rebs!) and we have "Now That's What I Call Christmas! 3" (thanks Betsy!).
And we have sugar cookies (thanks me!). The kind you roll out thin and cut out with cookie-cutters and decorate with frosting and eat for months until they go stale in your pantry.
Somehow these ones didn't make it that long in our house… Anyway, I plan to bake (and eat) my way through finals. And once I get home, I plan to bake (and eat) my way through winter break. If you need a little homemade holiday cheer, whip up some of these classic sugar cookies, and have a wonderful break, my friends!
Stay tuned at www.asprinkleintime.wordpress.com for treats all winter long!
Traditional Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
Adapted from The All-American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett
•2 ½ cups flour
•1 tsp baking powder
•1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
•1 cup sugar
•2 large egg yolks
•large pinch of salt
•2 tsp vanilla extract
•Frosting or sprinkles for decorating
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. In another bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until well blended and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, then the salt and vanilla, until evenly incorporated. Gradually stir in the flour mixture to form a smooth dough. If dough is overly dry, try adding some milk (just a tiny bit at a time) until the dough comes together.
Chill the dough for at least an hour or overnight. Remove from fridge and roll the dough out 1/8 inch thick. Cut out cookies with assorted cookie cutters and transfer carefully to an ungreased baking sheet. If using sprinkles, add before baking.
Bake for 8-11 minutes, until very lightly colored. Keep a very close watch as these will burn quite quickly. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before removing them and let them cool completely before decorating.