Baby Blue & Pink Ornament Cookies & Sugar Cookie Recipe

I made these ornament cookies for my sister's family in CA this week.  Even managed to get them in the mail so they'll have them before Christmas!!  I'm quite proud of myself!!

Since she has three newly adopted little ones, I decided on a baby blue and pink color theme.

For the past couple of years, I have been using a cookie recipe I found at Cookie Crazie.  It is absolutely delicious!  And her cookies are adorable, by the way!  I found her blog when I first started making decorated cookies and was looking for someone who used glaze instead of royal icing.  I have learned so much from her blog.  This recipe is actually a little different than the one she has posted now.  I've never tried the newer version, but I fully intend to one of these days.

Here's the recipe:

Cookie Crazie Sugar Cookies

4 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon extract - I usually use almond, unless I'm doing chocolate cookies
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.  In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.  Beat in the egg, vanilla and sour cream until will blended.  Stir in dry ingredients.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for a couple of hours.  (I don't always do this and they turn out fine!!  I'll tell you what I do below.)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/4" thick (I do mine a bit thicker).  Cut into desired shapes.  Place cookies 1 1/2" apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake 14 - 16 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool a few minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Variation:
Substitute 1/2 cup cocoa for 1/2 cup flour (I use Hershey's Special Dark)

Recipe makes approximately 25 medium sized cookies.

If I don't have time to chill the cookie dough, I go ahead and roll out and cut my cookies, then I place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 15 or 20 minutes before baking.  I've found that the cookies tend to spread more if the dough hasn't been chilled.  I actually prefer to do it this way rather than chilling the dough first.

Some of the cookies pictured in this post are a Brown Sugar Spice Recipe that I found online somewhere.  I'll post it next, but I would like to find the blog I found it on first, so I can give credit where credit is due.

Enjoy!!