Sugar Cookies with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

These are Jirik's favorite cookie!. I've been meaning to make them for a while now, but I finally got around to it this weekend. I really enjoy this recipe as it is pretty easy to roll out to make cut outs. Most of them are plain circles though because all of my cookie cutters are holiday shapes, and I wasn't making these for any holiday. I topped some of the cookies with a lemon cream cheese frosting. Yum!

 

Cookies: 3 sticks butter, softened2 cups sugar4 eggs1 teaspoon vanilla extract5 cups flour2 teaspoons baking powder1 teaspoon salt
Frosting:1/2 stick butter1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese1 teaspoon vanilla 3 cups powdered sugarlemon extract to taste  Sugar Cookies (If you don't have time to make them from scratch, I like the Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix.)

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

 

Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight). 

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. 

I made a few shapes, but with most of them I just rolled them into balls and pressed the flat side of a cup onto the cookie ball to flatten it. With some of them I dipped the cup in colored sugar before pressing into the dough ball. 

Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. I used parchment paper for easy removal. Bake 6 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely. 

  Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. 

 Slowly mix in powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Add lemon extract to taste. Frost!