You know that girl in workout class that you hate because she is lunging lower than everyone see, lifting weights with tiny yet defined arms, barely breaking a sweat as the teacher forgets to stay stop when you are doing pushups, and oh wait, is eight months pregnant but you can’t tell from behind that she is even carrying a child? Well,I just happen to be life long friends with this particular person and guess what, she’s impossible to hate because she is so nice and funny! I know she says she does in fact eat these cookies, but I find it hard to believe with her petite figure! These are wonderful sugar cookies that I tried from her kitchen counter over the holidays and have been meaning to try ever since. This dreary Chicago Sunday inspired me to wear sweats and bake and I am glad I did! These cookies are delicious and easy to make. Kris likes to use almond extract which adds a fun twist to a classic recipe. She also likes to freeze half the dough to use at a later time. Thanks Kris!

Kris Roth’s Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

For the Cookies:

1/2 pound butter, softened
2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 C sour cream
5 1/2 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp almond extract

For the Frosting:

4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 C shortening
5 Tbsp. milk (you may need to add more depending on consistency)
1 tsp almond extract

Directions:

For the cookies: Preheat oven to 325 and grease cookie sheets. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, one at a time, until blended. Mix in sour cream and extracts and blend well. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry mixture in 3 batches to the wet mixture until just combined. Divide into 2 pieces and flatten slightly, wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. When ready, roll out dough and cut into shapes. Dough may be frozen for later use. Bake for 10-12 minutes turning pans midway thru.

For the icing: Mix powdered sugar, shortening, and extract in a kitchen aid mixer. Add the milk until desired consistency. You may need to add 1 to 2 extra tablespoons of milk until you reach spreadable texture. Frost cooled cookies and decorate with sprinkles if desired.

Tips:

*You can always swap the almond extract for vanilla extract.

*You can add food coloring to the frosting. I want to try that on Easter and use a bunny cookie cutter.

*I did some cookies in large heart shapes shown above and some in small circles. For softer more “under done” cookies, make the shapes small and bake 10 minutes. For crispier cookies with a firmer bottom stick to larger 2-3 inch cookie cutter shapes and bake for 11-12 minutes. My neighbor and I voted for the smaller ones and Isaac liked the bigger heart shaped cookies. To each his own.

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