Sugar Cookie Recipe

I wish I could give credit to the mastermind behind this recipe, but I found it online one day a while back and it's changed sugar-cookie-making for me FOREVER.  It's actually enjoyable now:

Preheat 400 degrees and lightly grease cookie sheets.


1 1/2c Sugar
2/3c Shortening or butter
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/4c Flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl cream shortening and sugar. Add the eggs, extract, and milk. In med bowl mix dry ingredients with wire whisk. Add dry ingredients to large bowl. Mix with mixer until well combined. Here's the big secret that makes sugar cookie making tolerable!!!! Split the dough in half, and roll out between 2 pieces of parchment paper to about 1/4" thickness. Take the dough IN the paper and put on a cookie sheet and put in freezer. Go back and roll about the 2nd half. By the time you go to the freezer again, the 1st half is ready to cut out. If you weren't planning on getting to it right away, put it in the fridge instead. I dip my cutters in a smidge of flour - but that's it - no piles of flour everywhere - I love it.

Seashell Wedding Shower Cake

This is a 2-tier bridal shower cake. Both tiers are two-layer chocolate cake with cookies-and-cream filling. They are iced smooth with white buttercream icing. The shells are pink and white chocolate dusted with edible pearl dust. The pink band is tinted pink icing iced smooth and outlined with plastic pearls. The coral was made from royal icing.

This was a fun one!

Nolan's Soccer Cake

Nolan's 4th Birthday cake was a soccer cake. The base was a single-layer chocolate 10x14 sheet cake. The soccer ball was vanilla cake all covered in buttercream icing stars. The soccer players are sugar cookies covered in royal icing and royal icing soccer balls.

My Little Pony Cake

Cammy's 6 year Birthday Cake - PONIES PONIES PONIES. Cam has gone Pony-happy this year and wants to top it off with a My Little Pony cake. I pulled out one of her coloring books and traced the images with tinted royal icing to make the pony decorations. She stood over me the entire time to make sure I used the "correct" colors.

Pokemon

Braeden wanted a Pokemon cake for his 7th birthday. Of course, there isn't much out there in the way of POKEMON cakes. I printed off a picture of the Pikachu trio and made a royal icing plaque. It's a 2 layer chocolate cake with cookies and cream frosting in the middle. The entire cake was iced with white buttercream icing, then I piped in the sky with tinted piping gel. The rest of the cake was iced in green, with orange border, and grass details...tip 3 writing.

Curious George Cakes

Nolan asked for a Curious George cake for his birthday. Unfortunately there isn't much out there yet for decorating Curious George cakes. I took a coloring page we found online and used it to create a sugar plaque to place on top of the cake. I was too tired to get fancy on the rest of cake, so we stuck with balloons. The cake is a two-layer lemon cake with lemon pie filling and buttercream icing.

This is Nolan's individual cake. It was made with the Wilton Mini-Cake Pan Set. Same flavor and filling as the big cake. The monkey on top was purchased...but it was far too small to use on the big cake.

Easter Cookies

Teacher Appreciation Day
Vanilla globe cake sits on top of a two-layer chocolate mousse cake covered in buttercream. Decorated with pullout grass tip, royal icing flowers, and royal icing "teachers".

Teachers are connected - holding icing apples.

Nascar star cake for Braeden's 6th birthday party.



Nascar cupcakes.

Chocolate Pudding Pie - recipe from Williams Sonoma...YUMMY!!!




Dora character cake




Nolan's 2nd birthday cake. Two tiered cakes with animals using the multicolor chocolate method, variegated icing, and piping. Inspired by a cake from Whimsical Bakehouse. Chocolate butter cake with oreo cookie filling and italian merinque buttercream.

Banana cake with french custard layers, covered with poured chocolate icing. Candy tinted dots.




My Little Pony - Rainbow Dash




16" round Baptism Cake covered royal icing flowers.




Nemo Cake
Football shaped body with icing fins and tail.


Nolan's 1st birthday cake. Barn, base, and haystacks are cakes. Animals are all edible made with royal icing.


Matching haystack smashcake.

Black forest cake topped with royal icing trumpet for dad's birthday.




Doggie cake for Cam's 4th birthday party. Doghouse and base are made from cake. Buttercream details and dog...with white chocolate bones.




Princess cake made for my niece's 1st birthday party and baptism. The castle is made from tinted white chocolate.




Ladybug cake made for my niece's 2nd birthday party. Star character cake sits on top of a square cake base. Detailed with buttercream ladybugs, pullout grass, and royal icing flowers.



Ladybug sugarcookies.

Fondant covered clown cake.




30th Birthday Smurf cake




Cammy's 3rd birthday "Silly Cake" - arms made by inserting plastic dowels and covering with buttercream icing.

Christmas Treats

Annual Christmas cookie spread - these are the standards, but we always make 1-2 new ones as well. Peanut butter kiss, snickerdoodles, chocolate crinkle, sugar.



Decorated sugar cookies




Chocolate lollipops made for the church Holly Fair.




Christmas tree sugar cookies made for school party.




Christmas rice krispie treats and peanut butter balls.

Cupcakes made for school party.

Fourth birthday Scooby cake. Scooby Doo plaque made from tinted chocolate.

Fairly Odd Parents Cake

Square Scooby Doo Cake for 5th birthday party. Small scooby plaque and lettering made from chocolate. Buttercream dog paw prints and swirls with green rosette border.

Fourth of July cake - "fireworks" made from floral wire and royal icing stars.