The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

I had these at a friend's little girl's birthday party. I don't normally rave about a cookie. And, it takes a special dessert to get my attention. These cookies were amazing. I like my cookies soft. This fit the bill. Plus, they decorated beautifuly. They reminded me of the look of a Cookie Bouquet cookie with a lot better taste. The icing is Wilton's buttercream icing. A thin layer of this made for an amazing cookie.

• Ready In: 28 mins
• Yields: 1 batch

Ingredients

• cookie ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups butter, softened
• 2  cups white sugar
• 4  eggs
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5  cups all-purpose flour
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 1  teaspoon salt

• icing ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup butter
• 1⁄2 cup shortening
• 1  lb powdered sugar
• 1  teaspoon vanilla, we used clear vanilla
• 2  tablespoons milk (1-2 depending on consistency)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.
4. For the icing, combine the last 5 ingredients in a blender until creamy. Slowly add the milk so that you may choose your consistency.