"Best Versatile Sugar Cookie Dough"

I have used this recipe for years from Christmas cookies to snicker doodles. It keeps in the fridge very well. I have never frozen it so I don't really know how well it would do frozen. But this is a good basic cookie dough to have on hand.

Recipe

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• granulated sugar

Directions

Mix butter, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Divide dough into halves and roll each half about 3/16 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes and sprinkle with sugar. Place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake until the edges are light brown about 7 to 8 minutes.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

To make snicker doodles, cut out circle shapes and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. You can also take the dough out of the refrigerator and instead of rolling it out, just take spoonfuls of dough and roll them into a ball then dip the ball into cinnamon and sugar. Put them on a greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart and press them down. Bake the same temperature and time.

My husband loves snicker doodles. His mom made them for him when he was growing up. I don't make them a lot because he is the only one in our family that likes them. So, when I do make them, he really appreciates it and he is like putty in my hands.

This dough will keep in the refrigerator for at least 5 days. So you can make as many cookies as you need and save some dough for later if you don't need a whole batch right then, more or less. Anyway, below I have provided a good video for those of you that have never worked with cookie dough that you have to roll out and cut. Not to worry, as you will see, it is not hard or scary. It's fun and easier than you think! I hope this informative video will make you feel less intimidated. I know that when I first started working with cut out cookie dough I was amazed at how easy and fun it is. Get your children involved in making Christmas cookies and year round cookies. It's a good way to make memories. We always get out pictures of when they were younger and making cookies. It's really fun!

Now, go make your memories with your own cookie dough!

When you decorate your cookies there are so many cookie decor items to choose from. If you want to make ornaments there are kits that you can buy to preserve the cookie and make it into an ornament. But, if you are making them to eat, you want to keep your decor simple with some green and red sugar crystals for starters.

Using things like red hots, silver balls, or beads that are edible are a lot of trouble and have the potential to fall off if you are making them to eat. You want your cookies to be easily accessible and easy to eat. After all, you do have to bake them first before you decorate. First, make sure that you let your cookies cool completely. It is no fun to decorate a hot cookie. Then, I always use butter or margarine melted, of course, so that your decorations will stick. You want to put your finished, decorated cookies on a wire cooling rack because they will have to dry properly before you can store them.

It is okay if you want to use frosting. The kind in the tube that you can squeeze out is great and sometimes they come with different tips you can put on the end to make different designs. This is really fun for kids because they get inspired to be creative at a time of the year when so many things are "no touch" for them. You want to supervise them, of course, but if you have older kids let them help the younger ones because sometimes little hands are not as agile. This makes it fun for everyone!