Sugar, Sugar

We've had some friends and family over during the holidays, so I'm a little behind on my blogging. I hope to catch up in the next few days, so here's something that should have been posted a couple of weeks ago.....

.....I'm not exactly a fan of Christmas, but I have always wanted to make my idea of Christmas cookies (sugar cookies with frosting) from scratch. I was always too afraid until now - so I went for it, and they were fabulous (as the title of the cookies would suggest!). Please ignore the not-so-great frosting job, I need to work on that, don't let that deter you from this recipe. It was easy enough for a baking rookie like me, but tasty enough to satisfy the experienced baker.

I put plenty out for Santa with a tall glass of milk & carrots for the reindeer, I hope he enjoyed them :)

Fabulous Sugar Cookies
Found On Good Things Catered, from A Year in the Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. powdered sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 Tbsp lemon zest
5 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Powdered sugar, for rolling

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Cream butter and sugars in a mixer for 5 minutes.
-Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly.
-Add vanilla, almond, and lemon zest.
-Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt a little at a time.
-Do not over mix, this process should take about one minute.
-Chill dough for up to a week in the fridge, or roll out and cut right away.
-Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake cookies for 7-8 minutes.
-Wait until cookies are cooled before icing.

It all depends on how thick you cut the cookies, and I forgot to count how many I made, but they make anywhere from 30 big cookies, to 80 small.