Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice

Cookies ~ everybody loves them in some form or the other.... I had a lunch invite by one of my dear friend who happens to be my next door neighbor as well and i was wondering what should i bake as i had very little time. Addition to this my lil one was asking me about cookies since last 2 days.... and it clicked me.. Cookie pops for a friend and cookies for kids - there is a saying in Hindi "ek teer mein do nishaane" which means you hit 2 targets with one arrow.

So i finally decided let the cookie be simple and accessories be fancy which will make it special :)
People always ask me this question - do you plan your baking or you just do it when thought comes? How come you always have inventory up to date when it comes to baking ? Well to answer this - I always keep my baking ingredient list stocked !!! and sometimes my baking is planned and sometimes just when i feel like :) Sometimes i even bake when i think i have sometime ..... day by day its becoming a passion for me and i'm loving it !!! Whenever i bake i get this feeling of satisfaction and feeling of i did something on my own and others liked it..... sometimes i feel i'm going crazy to feel this way...but Baking gives me relaxation .... it doesnt bother me in anyway ......

OK back to where i was :P so i made the Sugar cookie dough and with 1/4th dough i made Cookie pops and rest of it i added some colorful sprinkles in the dough and made cookies using circle and heart shaped cookie cutter...End result - it was awesome !!! 

They are simple, sweet and you can make so many things out of them - just use your creativity.


Ingredients

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


Directions

1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium; add eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture gradually, beating until incorporated. Shape dough into 2 disks. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Let 1 disk of dough stand at room temperature until just soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out shapes using cookie cutter. Transfer to baking sheets 2 inches  apart. Gently press cookies down. (Cookies will stick once they are baked.) Roll out scraps once, and repeat. Repeat with remaining disk of dough. Freeze until cookies are firm, 15 minutes.
3. Bake in batches, switching and rotating sheets halfway through, until edges of cookies turn golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
4. For Cookie pops - fill the dough in the cookie pan, press the pop stick firmly. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes till they turn golden. Remove and cool them on the wire racks. Decorate with Royal Icing or Ganache. I used Ganache and some sprinkles on top.

Enjoy these with almost anything and anytime during the day.

Richa