Sugar Cookie Recipe 2012 - Perfect for your whole family

You will need:

3 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter (softened at room temperature)
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and sugar with electric mixer until it becomes light and creamy. Next, beat in the egg and vanilla extract until fully blended.

By hand with a spoon slowly stir in the flour and salt.

If you'd like rounded, "drop cookies", spoon about 1.5 inch balls of dough onto your cookie sheet, then immediately bake in oven for about 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie are golden. The dough will expand in the oven, so leave about 2 inches of space in between each drop.

If drop cookies are too plain and you're feeling creative, roll the dough onto a floured surface instead. Use a rolling pin to smooth the dough and use cookie cutters to shape figures about ¼ to ½ inch thick.

The rolling pin should be lightly floured as well to prevent the dough from sticking. With a variety of cookie cutters, your dough can be shaped and decorated for any occasion.

As with the drop cookies, after placing the dough on cookie sheets, bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes or until the edges have turned golden.

When the cookies appear ready, carefully remove the sheet from the oven and immediately sprinkle them with sugar, or powdered sugar. Cookies can also be decorated with frosting, sprinkles, or melting chocolates.