Sugar Cookies...Just in time for the Holidays!

With Thanksgiving coming up, it reminds all of us the things we have in our lives that we are thankful for.  No matter how much loss a person experiences, there are always things in life that you can appreciate.  So, with this in mind, I am making sugar cookies with different colored vanilla buttercream frosting for my awesome coworkers.  They make coming to work every single day something that I actually look forward to (how many people can say that?).  But there is a twist to these cookies I am making for them....we are doing a cookie decorating contest with the winner receiving an awesome prize.  I found a recipe for Chewy Sugar Cookies that promise to be soft and, of course, delicious.  We shall see.....

Chewy Sugar Cookies
2 3/4 C. Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 C. Butter (room temperature)
1 1/2 C. White Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
3 to 4 tbs. Buttermilk

First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and baking powder) and set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together the soften butter and sugar for 3 minutes with an electric mixer.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Next, gradually blend in the dry ingredients.  After this, add the buttermilk to moisten the dough until it is soft, not wet (I recommend 3 tbs. of buttermilk).

Take rounded tablespoons of dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  With your fingers, moisten the top of each cookie with the remaining buttermilk and slightly flatten the top of each cookie.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, maybe a few minutes longer depending on how big you have made the cookies, until slightly golden around the edge.  Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to cool on a rack.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
3 C. Powdered Sugar
1 C. Butter (room temperature)
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 to 2 tbs. Whipping Cream
Food coloring of choice (I am doing all of the primary colors so they can mix and match)

In a bowl, mix together sugar and butter with an electric mixer on low speed until well blended, and then beat for another 3 minutes.  Add the vanilla and the cream and continue to beat on medium speed, adding more cream if needed for consistency.  Separate the frosting into different bowls and add food coloring to create all the different colors you want.

This was so much fun!  The winner of the competition was Shari!  She created a dragon cookie sculture:

I officially work with some of the most creative people ever.  We had so much fun decorating!  Enjoy the pictures!