Our Favorite Sugar Cookies

In my last post I noted that we had made sugar cookies for Valentine's Day.  Well, these cookies have been a big hit in our home.  Shawn had me make another batch.  Now they are 3 days old and still as soft as ever.  I'm really impressed with these cookies, so I wanted to share the recipe.

The original recipe came from here:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Super-Sugar-Cookies/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=super%20sugar%20cookies&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page&soid=sr_results_p1i1

However, I made a few changes, so here's the way I make our favorite frosted sugar cookies.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup evaporated cane juice
2 eggs
1 tsp. lemon extract
4 cups organic, unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 tsp. salt

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Cream butter and coconut oil together.  Add sugars and blend well.  Add eggs and lemon extract.
3.  In small bowl sift together dry ingredients.  Gradually add them to the wet ingredients until well blended.

For cut-outs
If you will be making cut-outs then you will need to refrigerate the dough for an hour or probably less.**  Once the dough has stiffened up you can pull it out of the fridge and roll it out between two pieces of wax paper.  Then use a cookie-cutter to get your desired shapes.  Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Depending on the size/shape of your cookies, they will need to bake for 8-10 minutes.

**Coconut oil can harden quickly so watch how long you leave it in the fridge.  I left mine in the fridge overnight and it was rock-hard when coming out.  I was still able to use it though, it just took some time to thaw.

For regular round cookies
If you're making just plain cookies, then you can skip the refrigeration step.  After mixing the dough begin shaping into walnut-sized balls.  Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Using the bottom of a drinking glass, press the balls into a flattened, round cookie.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. lemon extract
food coloring (optional)

Cream butter and then gradually add in powdered sugar until blended well.  Mix in milk 1 Tbsp. at a time until desired consistency is reached.  Add lemon extract.  Add optional food coloring.