I just wasn’t feeling Eastery this year.  We didn’t even have an Easter dinner… just a little homemade guacamole and Coronas while watching a movie.  I know, I’m a bad wife, but we’ve been so busy with Stephan’s business, it just slipped my mind.  Its definitely Wedding season in South Florida!  Anyway, instead of making Easter Dinner, I woke up on Sunday morning and decided to make my favorite sugar cookies.  I used the same recipe from my Halloween cookies, but ommitted the baking soda.  I spent some time decorating them with pink, blue and yellow Royal Icing.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookie Recipe

2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
8 oz (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 c granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1/2 c sour cream
1. In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Stir well to mix. Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until well mixed, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and egg and continue mixing until smooth. Stop mixer and scrape down the bowl and beater with a rubber spatula. On low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, then the sour cream. Stop mixer again, and scrape again. Beat in the remaining flour.

3. Scrape dough onto a floured work surface and pat it into a rectangle. The dough will be very soft. Cut the dough into four quarters and wrap them and chill for at least 1 hour, preferably longer. Roll out a piece of dough on a floured surface until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut the cookies with shaped cookie cutters that have been dipped in flour. As soon as the cookies are cut, place them on the prepared pan. Leave about an inch around each in all directions. Repeat with the remaining dough. Save, press together, chill and re-roll the scraps to make more cookies.

4. Bake the cookies about 15-20 minutes or until they become dull and dry looking and feel slightly firm when pressed with a fingertip. If you over-bake the cookies, they will be very dry. Slide the papers onto racks to cool.

5. When cooled completely, decorate with royal icing. Store the cooled cookies in a tin or a plastic container with a tight fitting cover.

Note: I find it easier to cut them when I chill the dough again after I roll it out.  It takes a little longer, but the cookie really holds its shape.  If you really want perfectly shaped cookies, chill again right before popping into the oven.

Royal Icing Recipe

3 large egg whites
1 1-pound box confectioners sugar, about 4 cups
1/2 tsp lemon juice or distilled white vinegar.
food coloring paste
1. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, combine the egg whites and confectioners sugar. Beat on the lowest speed until all the sugar is evenly moistened. Add the lemon juice, increase the speed to medium, and beat until the icing is light and fluffy, about 4 or 5 minutes.

2. Use immediately or scrape into a small bowl and place plastic wrap directly against the surface so a skin doesn’t form. Cover the plastic wrap with a few wet paper towels to prevent the icing from drying.