Sugar Cookies! Recipe and Rambling

If I wasn't feeling like I'd already picked it up from Russell's house at Christmas, I think tonight I'd be looking for the crazy cat lady starter kit to order.  Today I was made aware of a mid-singles dance in St George tonight.  Those of you who don't know me, I don't dance very well.  I love to swing dance and I love the idea of dancing but it's not my comfort zone, unless I have a swing partner that I know can make up for my lack of grace and even then I'm not certain comfort zone would be the best word choice.  I had a few hours to either talk myself into or out of it.

What does a girl do when faced with a choice like this?  She turns to friends, and this being a sensitive-ish topic and considering one friend is very busy right now I had two choices.  DiAnna who would have made me go, without a doubt including showing up on my doorstep to help me get ready (really, I think she does that just so I don't back out of things I'm not certain I want to do) or the friend I did text.  Sorry DiAnna, and I know that you're one of like 3 people who read my blog so yes, I'm ready and waiting for my butt kicking.  When I can't walk straight next week, it's DiAnna's fault.  Reality is I may have gone if I'd had friends to go with me because someone has to have your back and as far as I know, no one I know was going or if I'd had more time to gear myself up.  In my head I'm a fantastic dancer and completely confident in a room of people who mostly know each other and I know none of them, but outside of my head I need dance lessons and a friend at least in the same town to rescue me if need be.

Instead I stayed at home, made sugar cookies for a neighbor's birthday (isn't a way to a man's heart through his stomach?  I'm just perfecting my baking...) and visited with them for a little when we delivered it then came home to finish up crocheting headbands -- from Christmas.  Josie's just needs the flower sewn on and it's my favorite, Bailie's yarn didn't work up well so I picked up the same color in a different weight and found  yarn as close to Josie's vintage yarn as I could for Charlet but it's wool and so soft.  It might turn into a hat and fingerless mittens for me.  Maybe.

Every time I've made these sugar cookies since I found/tweaked a recipe that gives me soft cookies that aren't hard and hold their shape when baking I've been asked for the recipe so here it is -- with a few side notes too, that's what makes a recipe special after all.

They aren't bunnies, they are sideways goldfish!  With big tails, they swim faster that way.

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 C flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 C salted butter at room temperature if you only have unsalted butter toss 1/2 teaspoon salt in with the flour {don't try to microwave it so it's soft and don't try to use it straight from the fridge.  If you are in a crazy use a food processor to get it broken down and then it will cream better.  and absolutely do.not.use.shortening.  Ever.  Even if it is butter flavored Crisco.  Just don't do it.}
• 1 C sour cream {yes, sour cream it's delicious and wonderful and no one will know or be able to figure out why they're so soft and perfect.  Your daughter's teenage friends will raise and eyebrow, but they're teenagers and they'll cave in and try them}
• 2 C sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla {the better quality the vanilla the better the result.  Sugar cookies don't have a lot of flavors otherwise so this recipe is one where I pull out the good stuff}

Directions

• Sift together flour and baking soda {and salt if using unsalted butter} and set aside.  {if you have small children helping make sure they aren't using a paddle spoon for this step or you will be sweeping up flour from everywhere}
• Cream together butter, sour cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  {go ahead and be picky about what order things go in for creaming, but I've never noticed a difference so they all go in together and it saves time}
• Add flour mixture to creamed mixture slowly-ish.  About a couple of cup fulls at a time, not tablespoons or you'll hate me because this will take forever and no one has all day just to make cookies!
• Dough does need to go into the fridge for at least an hour or over night before rolling it out, divide it into half and wrap with saran wrap or use a plastic bag  {Again, this is a trust me thing.  If you make these without chilling the dough I don't want to hear about how hard they were to roll out or how they lost their shape in the oven.  It's an important step, go do some dishes or laundry -- better yet, come do mine while the hour is passing}
• Pre-heat oven to 350
• Roll the dough out onto a heavily floured counter and cut into desired shapes.  I have Christmas and Thanksgiving shaped cookie cutters but I'm over Christmas, so I found one lonely Easter Bunny  sideways goldfish with a huge fin.  I always, always, always bake cookies on parchment paper.  It's cheap, saves on dishes, and cookies bake more evenly. 
• How long to bake will vary depending on oven, cookie thickness, and a little bit on cookie size.  I'd check them at 7 minutes, 5 or 6 if they are thin.  You want to pull them out of the oven just before the edges brown but make sure the middle of the cookie doesn't look wet.  Pulling them out at the perfect time is key for softness.  My oven it's 9 minutes for thick cookies, 8 for normal {no, I don't have numbers to go with what I mean by that be grateful I have times, Mom's recipes always say "bake in an oven until done"  I don't know where else you'd bake, but my point is be grateful for how much I gave you} 
• As for frosting.  Royal Icing will give you cuter cookies, but cream cheese or butter cream frosting tastes much better.  Taste wins in my book, nearly every time so I use cream cheese frosting -- today from a can, frosting recipe will have to come another day.