Martha's Blue Ribbon Sugar Cookies - Christmas

Submitted by Lindas Busy Kitchen

"These cookies are by far "The Best" Sugar Cookies I have ever had, and the amazing flavor is in the secret ingredient :) I guarantee if you do make them, you will never use another recipe. Try them and see for yourself! They are delicious plain or decorated with frosting, or glaze and holiday jimmies or sprinkles or colored sugar granules. You can substitute lemon or lime peel in place of the orange peel if you wish. They are all awesome! You can easily double this recipe to make a larger amount of cookies for the holidays! The amount of cookies really depends on the size of the cutters you use, so it is only a guesstimate. The cooking time is for 2 sheets of cookies."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 8mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Yields: 24-30 cookies

ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup butter, room temperature (no substitutes)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 -2 tablespoon orange rind, finely grated

directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until well mixed.
2. Add 2 eggs to the creamed mixture. Mix well.
3. In another large bowl, mix sifted flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to creamed butter mixture. Mix well.
4. Add in grated orange rind, and mix well.
5. Make into a ball, and chill in bowl covered with saran wrap, for at least 2 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.
6. When ready to bake preheat the oven to 350.
7. With a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/4" thick on a very lightly floured surface.
8. Make into desired shapes using cookie cutters. (I dip my cutters in flour before cutting each cookie, so they don't stick). If you don't have cookie cutters, you can use the bottom of a glass instead. Brush off any excess flour before putting them on the cookie sheet, if there is any.
9. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheet about 2" apart. You may use parchment paper if you like.
10. Bake for 8 minutes (or you may preheat the oven to 300, and bake for 10 minutes).
11. Let cookies cool on wire racks.
12. Decorate.
13. Store in a covered plastic container, or cookie tin.

Reviews

[WaCookinFool]

First of all, the taste and texture of these cookies are phenomenal. My cutters are on the large side and I only got 12 cookies out of the batch, which was a minor disappointment. These came out so light and fluffy that I do not think I could have frosted them without tearing them up. Instead I sprinkled them with raw sugar prior to baking and they came out perfect. I will be making these again. I did have some trouble with them being sticky but I think I can solve that with some floured parchment paper and by putting the dough back in the refrigierator between batches. Thanks Linda.

 

[Chef Mommie]

I heard the guys were fighting over these at my husbands work. That's enough for me to know I'll never use another recipe! Thank You!!!

 

[BettyBoopers]

I used 2 T. orange zest in a double batch and it was just the right amount for me. These cookies came out so good! I did have to use extra flour when rolling out as I didn't put enough down when I started rolling and had to add more on the surface of the table. I used Kittencal's recipe for icing that hardens on the top and it worked great! They will be the perfect addition to my cookie tins this year!

 

[WhineAndCheese]

This recipe for sugar cookies are to die for! I have made them many times and after looking at the reviews I saw that I hadn't reviewed them. My bad! The flavor is awesome and the cookies are not real crisp, but not soft either. They are always requested for the holidays by my family and they look forward to seeing them on the cookie trays! All you have to do is flour the surface of the bench you are making them on, flour the rolling pin as you are using it, and probably more than once when rolling out the dough. I dusted the dough after taking it out of the fridge, and I divided the dough into 2 balls, working with one and making the cookies, then taking the other ball out of the fridge when I had all the cookies done from the first ball, so the dough wouldn't be too soft. It is common sense with any cookie that if it sits out too long and gets soft to add a little flour to the cookie dough, until it is the consistency needed to make the cookies. It isn't rocket science. Use common sense and they will come out perfectly!

 

[Caromcg]

I prepared a double-recipe two weeks ago - to make in small batches over the Xmas/Dec season. Easy to make & stored well in the fridge. Unlike other reviewers, I did not find the dough too sticky, though I did use a lot of flour each time I rolled the dough out. I think it helped considerably that I had stored the dough in the fridge. In addition, between rollings & bakings, I returned the dough to the fridge, and I found the dough fairly easy to handle. I increased the baking time to 10-11 min at 350 (I found 8 min cookies weren't quite ideally crisp). We sugared some before baking, and we frosted/decorated some after baking; the cookie held up to both well. But MOST IMPORTANTLY, the cookies were DELICIOUS. They have become my go-to for sugar cookies!