Photo of Classic sugar cookies by WW

Classic sugar cookies

3
Points®
Total Time
42 min
Prep
30 min
Cook
12 min
Serves
45
Difficulty
Easy
No party is complete without sugar cookies. Make these cookies any shape you want by using different cookie cutter shapes and colored sugars to create a variety of designs. You can sprinkle them with colored sugar as we’ve done here or make colored icing and paint on your own designs. To ice the cookies, bake them without the colored sugar topping. While they are cooling, combine 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 to 3 teaspoons of hot water in a small bowl. Divide icing in half and add drops of different food coloring to each half; paint designs on cookies using small painting or basting brushes.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour

3 cup(s)

Baking powder

2 tsp

Baking soda

1 tsp

Ground nutmeg

½ tsp

Salted butter

¼ cup(s)

Reduced fat cream cheese (neufchâtel)

¼ cup(s)

Sugar

1 cup(s), granulated

Vanilla extract

1 tsp

Egg

1 large egg(s)

Fat free skim milk

½ cup(s)

All-purpose flour

1 tsp, for rolling out dough

Sugar

cup(s), colored (for decorating)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg; set aside.
  3. Place butter and cheese in a large bowl; cream using an electric mixer. Add sugar and beat until batter is pale yellow; beat in vanilla extract and egg.
  4. Add about 1/3 of flour mixture and 1/3 of milk to cheese mixture; mix batter on low speed until just combined. Repeat 2 more times with remaining flour mixture and milk, until thoroughly combined.
  5. Shape dough into a ball and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Using your palms, press down on plastic wrap to flatten dough into a hamburger shape; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.
  6. Sprinkle a teaspoon of flour on a flat work surface. Pull off about 1/3 of dough and, using a rolling pin, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch circular cookie cutter, cut cookies out of dough and place on ungreased baking sheets. Roll up dough scraps and add back to dough ball. Pull off another 1/3 of dough and repeat process until all dough is used — recipe will make approximately 45 cookies.
  7. Sprinkle cookies with colored sugar and bake until edges just start to turn golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove cookies to wire racks and cool completely. Yields 1 cookie per serving.