Cut Out Sugar Cookies For Christmas

These sugar cookies are perfect for cut out cookies. They holds shape very well so can be decorated. They have a melt in the mouth texture with slight crunchy edges.

Ingredients

• Maida  - 3 1/4 cup 
• Corn flour  - 1/4 cup 
• Butter  -  200 gms or 1 cup
• Granulated sugar  -  1 cup 
• Vanilla extract  -  2 tsp 
• Baking powder  -  1 tsp 
• Salt  -  1/4 tsp 
• Egg  -  1

Method

• Mix together Maida, corn flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. 
• Beat together butter and sugar till light and fluffy. It should turn pale in color. 
• Now add in vanilla and egg, beat till just combined. 
• Dunk in the flour mixture and beat till the mixture starts to come together. 
• Now gently knead with hands to form a dough. 
• Roll this between butter paper or clin film to 1/2 inch thickness and refrigerate overnight or 4 hours minimum.
• Preheat the oven to 180°c. Using a cookie cutter cut out cookies. Place them on a parchment paper lined tray and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The edges will start browing. 
• When done, take out from the oven and cool in tray for 2 minutes. Then remove from tray and cool completely on wire rack. 
• Store in air tight containers. 

Notes

• You can replace corn flour with maida if you like. Cookie tastes better without cornflour but if you are more concerned about the shape, I suggest adding corn flour. 
• Using salted butter is ok for this recipe but if using salted butter no need to add that extra salt. The butter should be soft but not too soft. When you press with finger you should be able to make a dent easily but it should not loose shape or fall apart. 
• You can try different flavors instead of vanilla... lemon, almond, orange etc. You can also color them if you wish. 
• These can be decorated with royal icing, fondant or simply with some sprinkles. 
• It takes 10 to 12 minutes for a standard sized cookie. Baking time may vary depending on the size. The center will be a little soft when out of the oven but will be ok after cooling. So don't cook longer once you see the edges browing.