Hello, Good News! Welcome to another delicious article where we share our best recipes, tips, and tricks for baking amazing cookies. Today, we’re going to show you how to make Sweetopia sugar cookies, a popular recipe from the blog of the same name. These sugar cookies are soft, tender, and easy to decorate with a simple glaze. They’re perfect for any occasion, whether it’s Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or just a regular Tuesday.
If you’ve never heard of Sweetopia before, it’s a blog run by Marian, a former teacher who loves baking and decorating cookies. She has been sharing her recipes and tutorials since 2009, and has a huge fan base of cookie lovers. Her sugar cookie recipe is one of her most popular posts, and for good reason. It’s simple, versatile, and delicious. You can find the original recipe here[^1^], but we’ve also adapted it for you below.
What You’ll Need to Make Sweetopia Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
To make these sugar cookies, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tsp vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder (omit if you don’t want your cookies to spread)
- 1 tsp salt
For the glaze, you’ll need:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3 to 5 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Food coloring, if desired
- Sprinkles or other decorations, if desired
Equipment
To make these sugar cookies, you’ll need the following equipment:
- A large bowl and a medium bowl
- An electric mixer or a wooden spoon
- A plastic wrap
- A rolling pin
- A cookie cutter of your choice
- A baking sheet and parchment paper
- A cooling rack
- A small bowl and a spoon for the glaze
- A pastry brush or a knife for spreading the glaze
How to Make Sweetopia Sugar Cookies: Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the Cookie Dough
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer or a wooden spoon until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract or vanilla bean seeds and mix again.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder (if using), and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until a smooth dough forms. Do not overmix the dough or it will become tough.
Step 2: Chill the Cookie Dough
Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Chilling the dough will make it easier to roll out and cut, as well as prevent it from spreading too much in the oven.
Step 3: Roll Out and Cut the Cookie Dough
When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take one disk of dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to soften slightly.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick or slightly thinner. Use a cookie cutter of your choice to cut out shapes from the dough. Transfer the cut-outs to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches (5 cm) of space between them. Re-roll the scraps of dough and cut out more shapes until you use up all the dough.
Step 4: Bake and Cool the Cookies
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Do not overbake them or they will lose their softness. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Repeat the rolling, cutting, and baking process with the remaining disk of dough. You should get about 4 dozen 3-inch (8 cm) cookies from this recipe, depending on the size and shape of your cookie cutter.
Step 5: Make and Apply the Glaze
While the cookies are cooling, make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl until smooth and spreadable. If the glaze is too thick, add more milk, one teaspoon at a time. If the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Tint the glaze with food coloring if desired.
Using a pastry brush or a knife, spread a thin layer of glaze over each cookie. Decorate with sprinkles or other toppings if desired. Let the glaze set for about 4 hours or until hard. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Sweetopia Sugar Cookie Recipe: Table Breakdown
To help you visualize the ingredients and steps of this recipe, we’ve created a table breakdown for you. You can use this table as a quick reference or a checklist when making these sugar cookies.
| Ingredients | Amount | Step |
|---|---|---|
| Unsalted butter | 2 cups | 1 |
| Granulated sugar | 2 cups | 1 |
| Eggs | 2 large | 1 |
| Vanilla extract or vanilla bean seeds | 3 tsp or 1 vanilla bean | 1 |
| All-purpose flour | 5 cups | 1 |
| Baking powder (optional) | 1 tsp | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp | 1 |
| Powdered sugar (for glaze) | 3 cups | 5 |
| Milk (for glaze) | 3 to 5 tbsp | 5 |
| Vanilla extract (for glaze) | 1/4 tsp | 5 Food coloring (for glaze) |
| If desired Sprinkles or other decorations (optional) |
To taste 5 Plastic wrap A rolling pin A cookie cutter of your choice A baking sheet and parchment paper A cooling rack A small bowl and a spoon for the glaze A pastry brush or a knife for spreading the glaze Sweetopia sugar cookies are soft and tender sugar cookies that are easy to decorate with a simple glaze. They are based on a popular recipe from the blog Sweetopia, run by Marian, a former teacher who loves baking and decorating cookies. You need to chill the cookie dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days before rolling and cutting it. This will make the dough easier to work with and prevent it from spreading too much in the oven. Chilled dough will also hold its shape better and have a more even texture. Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted butter?You can use salted butter instead of unsalted butter, but you will need to reduce the amount of salt in the recipe by half. Salted butter has more moisture than unsalted butter, so it may also affect the texture of the cookies slightly. Can I use different flavors of extract instead of vanilla?You can use different flavors of extract instead of vanilla, such as almond, lemon, orange, or peppermint. Just make sure to adjust the amount according to your preference and the strength of the flavor. You can also add spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger to the dough for extra flavor. You can prevent the cookies from sticking to the cookie cutter by dipping it in flour before each cut. You can alsospray the cookie cutter with cooking spray or oil before using it. You can also chill the cookie cutter in the freezer for a few minutes to make it easier to release the dough. You can store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you freeze the cookies, make sure to separate them with parchment paper or wax paper to prevent them from sticking together. To thaw the cookies, let them sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before serving. You can decorate the cookies with royal icing instead of glaze if you want a more professional and detailed look. Royal icing is made with powdered sugar, water, and meringue powder or egg whites. It dries hard and glossy, and can be piped into different shapes and patterns. You can find a recipe and a tutorial for royal icing here. You can make these cookies gluten-free or vegan by substituting some of the ingredients with suitable alternatives. For gluten-free cookies, you can use a gluten-free flour blend instead of all-purpose flour. For vegan cookies, you can use vegan butter or margarine instead of butter, flax eggs instead of eggs, and plant-based milk instead of milk. You may need to adjust the baking time and the consistency of the dough and the glaze accordingly. You can make some variations of these cookies by adding different ingredients or flavors to the dough or the glaze. For example, you can add chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruits, or candy pieces to the dough for extra texture and taste. You can also flavor the glaze with lemon juice, orange zest, almond extract, or cocoa powder for a different twist. Where can I find more Sweetopia recipes and tips?You can find more Sweetopia recipes and tips on Marian’s blog, Sweetopia.net. She has hundreds of posts on how to make and decorate various kinds of cookies, cakes, cupcakes, and other treats. She also has videos, tutorials, guides, and resources on how to improve your baking and decorating skills. You can also follow her on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube for more inspiration and updates. ConclusionWe hope you enjoyed this article on how to make Sweetopia sugar cookies. These cookies are soft, tender, and easy to decorate with a simple glaze. They’re perfect for any occasion, whether it’s Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or just a regular Tuesday. If you try this recipe, let us know how it turned out in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you! Also, don’t forget to check out our other articles on baking and decorating cookies. We have plenty of recipes, tips, and tricks for you to explore. Thank you for reading and happy baking! |