Description

A scrumptious, light and fluffy sugar cookie for altitudes of 8,500 feet and higher.

Ingredients

Scale

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick, 8 TB) unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (not imitation)
3/4 cup sour cream

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. Set aside.
Using a stand or handheld mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, incorporating each fully. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in sour cream and vanilla.
Stir in flour mixture, combining gently until everything begins to clump together and forms a soft dough. If it remains too sticky, add a little more flour, about a tablespoon at a time, until it is handle-able. Pat dough into a rough circle, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator for 2 hours or more (can be made the day before).
Remove dough from refrigerator and allow to soften slightly. On your rolling surface, lay out a sheet of parchment that will fit your baking sheet. Sprinkle it with powdered sugar and place dough on top. Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness.
Cut out desired shapes. Gather the scraps and re-roll. Avoid re-rolling more than twice as your cookies may become tough. Carefully transfer the parchment to your baking sheet.
Bake cookies at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until tops are slightly puffed and bottoms are just slightly golden-colored.
Allow to cool on the pan for a minute or two, transfer to a baking rack. When fully cool, decorate the cookies with frosting and sprinkles.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Notes

… rolling the cookies out using flour can cause your dough to absorb too much, resulting in a tough dough. Rolling them out using powdered sugar instead adds a little extra yumminess without altering the texture.

… likewise, when cutting out cookies, place them carefully so that you have as few scraps as possible to re-roll out. The more you handle the dough, the more gluten it produces and if over-handled, can result in tough or dry cookies.