Old fashioned sugar cookies with buttercream icing

These cookies smell sooo good!  Buttery & sugary!  They are soft & sweet with lots of vanilla flavor.   I found this recipe in my huge disorganized recipe binder.  Lord only knows where I got it but I decided to try it.  At first I was not so sure about the sugar cookies.  I did not sprinkle the tops with sugar because I knew I was going to ice them so they were quite plain when they first came out of the oven and cooled.  But after I spread some sweet vanilla buttercream on the top, it all came together and tasted delicious. They totally remind me of those big pink cookies you can purchase in delis or coffee stands - I think they are called "Uncle Seths".  The texture is soft but not chewy with no crispness at all, not even the edges.  I used more vanilla then the recipe suggested because I wanted a deep vanilla flavor.  I also added the seeds of one whole vanilla bean.  I suppose you could use some almond extract also.  I'm not sure this would be a good sugar cookie recipe to roll out and use cookie cutters because all I did was scoop out the dough with my cookie scoop and flattened the ball slightly before baking. But the dough did seem pretty non-sticky, so it might roll out nicely.   This recipe specifically states to use COLD butter so that's why the dough is nice and cold and not sticky.  It has a little different mixing instructions then most sugar cookie dough recipes - there is no creaming of the sugar & butter.

So if you are looking for nice & thick & soft vanilla sugar cookies, then look no further. These are easy and delicious!

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

6 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
4 sticks cold butter, cut into thin slices
4 large eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl and add the cold butter slices. Use the paddle attachment and mix sugar & butter till it resembles coarse meal. Add the eggs one at a time and then the vanilla. 

Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda & cream of tartar.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time and beat until well blended.  Continue mixing for another 3 or 4 minutes (supposedly this additional mixing time adds to the texture).

Roll the dough into balls or use a cookie scoop.  Place onto cookie sheet and flatten slightly.  You can now sprinkle with plain or colored sugar or leave plain if you are going to ice.  Bake until the cookies are light brown around the edges about 12-15 minutes.

The buttercream icing I used is simply a combination of 1 cube of butter, clear vanilla, about 4-5 cups powdered sugar & enough milk to achieve desired consistency plus food coloring of your choice.