Vanilla Almond Sugar Cookies Recipe

I have a confession.  Sugar cookies might be my biggest weakness of all time.  And trust me, these ones are reeeeally, really good.  Seriously.  I had so much fun participating in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap and this being my first year I had no idea what to expect.  I mean I’ll take any excuse to do some baking, especially since I just got a new Kitchen-Aid mixer this year!  Lemme tell you, these bloggers go ALL out when it comes to making cookies and I had fun sampling a few for myself!  But we’ll get into that a little later.

For my cookies, I chose to make my favorite sugar cookie recipe by Bake at 350.  I just love the subtle hints of almond and vanilla you can taste as well as their chewiness rather than a stiff crunchy sugar cookie.  These are so simple to whip up and, sorry friends, I decided not to skimp on the butter and sugar, I mean it is Christmas after all!  I also wanted to make sure my recipients really enjoyed these so I did my best to deliver.  I chose not to use royal icing like I’ve done in the past when making cookies only because I had so many to make, but royal icing sure is pretty!  This time I went with vanilla flavored candy discs that I melted and poured into pastry bags.  Mmm it tasted just like white chocolate!

Then once my cookies were dry, I packaged them up and sent them out to three lovely bloggers so that they could enjoy them.  So who did I get to send these to??  Well I’m so glad you asked.

Almond Meltaway Cookie Recipe

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My apologies for not making the most healthy cookie, but sometimes it’s ok to indulge.    Or if you’re feeling a little too guilty, package them up and send them out to your friends to avoid all the calories.  Trust me, I’m sure they won’t mind.

So as part of the cookie exchange, I not only send my cookies out to three other bloggers, but three bloggers sent out cookies to me!!  Pretty sweet deal, huh?  I love receiving packages in the mail and I must admit these cookies did not last long.  They were delicious and so cute!

Soft And Chewy Classic Vanilla Cookies

The chocolate chip cookies were from Julie and they were seriously the most delicious chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had!!  The adorable little candy cane cookies were from Diane.  They had hints of peppermint and were decorated with pretty sparkles.  She even had mini candy canes dispersed in the container for me, so festive!  Last but not least, the yummy thumbprint cookies were from Melissa and had an amazing strawberry filling that was delicious!

Make to check out all the other delicious cookie recipes included in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.  Who knows, maybe you’ll find a new favorite just in time for the holidays!  LOVE this time of year!I’m a scientist who loves to bake, and here is where I document my adventures. Maybe you’ll learn a thing a two. Thanks for being here!

These are the perfect soft sugar cookies that keep their shape and don't spread! I've been using this recipe for years and absolutely love it. They are soft, chewy, full of flavor and perfect for decorating. These are some of my favorite Christmas cookies to make! This will become your new go-to sugar cookie recipe.

Almond Flour Sugar Cookies

When you roll out the dough, roll it out on the actual baking parchment or silicon mat that you plan to bake in on. Instead of removing each cookie you cut out and transferring it to a pan, cut the cookies and remove the excess dough from around them, so you don't have to worry about messing up the shape of the cookies when transferring them.

Freeze the pans of cut out dough for 5 minutes before baking, and move them from the freezer straight into the hot oven. Having cold/almost frozen dough helps them keep their shape even better.

The cookies don't look done after 7 or 8 minutes, but they still bake when they are out of the oven on the pan. Keep that in mind when baking. I never bake them for longer than 9 minutes, and I let them cool on the pan 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Almond Holiday Sugar Cookies

1. Cream butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy.2. Add in eggs and extracts.3. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl and slowly add to butter mixture with the mixer on low. Once fully combined, divide into 2. Wrap one half in plastic wrap and chill while you roll out the dough.4. Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. I prefer to cut them on the parchment or silpat I will bake them on, and remove the remaining dough to reuse.5. Chill in the freezer for 5 minutes on a cookie sheet before baking. After 5 minutes, bake at 350°F for 7-9 minutes.6. Remove from the oven and set the cookie sheet on a cooling rack, leaving the cookies on the sheet for 10 minutes before transferring the cookies to the cooling rack to finish cooling completely.7. Decorate once cool, and store in a sealed container for up to 1 week. Enjoy!Moms who want to get in and out of the kitchen quickly, you’re going to love these vanilla almond sugar cookies! The texture of soft almond sugar cookies just can’t be beat and they are so simple to make.

As you may or may not know, I am not the girl who will make a recipe twice if it’s complicated. Not only that, but I tend to ruin sugar cookies. Yes, it’s true. They came out dry, thin, and don’t even get me started on the way my cut out cookies would look when they didn’t hold their shape!

Let’s just say the kids were not impressed. If you have a history of sugar cookie Pinterest fails like me – there is hope. These sugar cookies with almond extract are here to save your baking reputation.

Soft Almond Sugar Cookies

Recently I attended a holiday party at my friend’s house and she kindly passed the recipe to me when she noticed I couldn’t. stop. eating. them. Oh my gosh, the flavor!

They were perfect vanilla almond sugar cookies. Soft, thick, and just a little chewy. There are so many creative ways to decorate them too!

My favorite part of this recipe is that this dough doesn’t have to be refrigerated before cutting out cookie shapes – it’s perfect for impatient bakers like me! Or, you know, your kids. Ahem.

Easy Almond Sugar Cookies Recipe

As soon as I got my hands on that recipe, I had to try making them myself. So easy. The kids loved making the different Christmas shapes and decorating them and the time spent together in the kitchen was a total mom win.

As I said before, the recipe was easy enough to make and we had a great time in the kitchen, but a little something was missing… it needed a touch of my favorite flavor to add to all of my homemade pastries, cookies and cakes.

Almond extract is a flavoring that is most often used in baking. It is made from bitter almonds (the same kind that are found in the grocery store’s marzipan) and has a strong, sweet almond flavor which works well in cakes, cookies, pies and other desserts.

No Spread Vanilla Almond Sugar Cookie Recipe

It pairs well with cherries, vanilla, coffee flavor, and of course makes an amazing almond extract cookie! You might also want to try it in your next batch of chocolate chip cookies!

When you mix together all of the ingredients for these yummy cut out cookies, the result is a thick, slightly chewy sugar cookie that is just the right amount of sweet.

But what’s the trick to make sure the cut out cookies come out perfectly? You have to roll the dough into a 1-inch thickness on parchment paper or a floured surface.

The Best Sugar Cookies (like Ever)

Be sure to make a double batch, though. If you take these to a Christmas party or even to a cookie exchange, they WILL be gone quickly!

And because all good cookies need a little icing, let’s talk about how to use royal icing. I know that the thought of figuring out how to flood royal icing can be overwhelming but I promised you easy cookies and I am here to walk you through all things icing related.

I found this great royal icing with meringue powder recipe that I used the first time I made these tasty cookies. I was impressed with how simple it was to whip up a batch of homemade icing.

How To Make Easy Gluten Free Vanilla And Almond Cookies!

As it turns out, these cookies are so easy to decorate than you might think! I made easy work of it by edging the cookies with just one piping bag , tip , and fasteners using the saran wrap trick !

To flood the rest of the cookies, I