Sourdough Sugar Cookies

Instructions

1. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 2 minutes.
2. Add the egg, vanilla, and sourdough starter and mix until combined.
3. In a separate medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine.
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, and mix just until it comes together. Do not overmix. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes in the bowl.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap with cling wrap. Flatten into a disc. You can also divide the dough into 2 discs. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 6 hours then transfer to the fridge for at least 8 hours or up to 2 days.
6. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° F. Flour your work surface and roll the dough out to about ½” - ¾” inch thickness. Dust with flour as you roll to prevent the dough from sticking. Cut into desired shapes. Freeze any dough that gets too soft then roll out again.
7. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
8. Make the icing: In a medium bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, milk or water, and vanilla extract with a fork. The mixture will be thick. Stir in a bit more water if needed until it’s the correct consistency. You can dip the cookies in the icing or pipe them on to decorate. I like to use a thicker icing to do an outline on the cookies, then a bit thinner to fill in the middle. If you wish to decorate using different colors, separate the icing into several small bowls and add food coloring of choice drops at a time until you reach the desired color. If at any time the icing becomes too thin, add some more powdered sugar to thicken.

Notes:

• Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
• Allowing the dough to rest after mixing will give the dough some time to absorb the liquids as it will be a bit sticky. After the 10 minutes, the dough will be less sticky and easier to remove and cling wrap.
• Freeze any dough that softens as you roll. It’s best to divide the dough and roll each section one at a time while keeping the other section refrigerated. Rolling the dough to ½” - ¾” inch will give you a thicker cookie. If you would like a thinner cookie, roll out to ¼".
• To pipe an outline on the cookies with the icing use a very small round piping tip. I’ve also just used a zip-lock bag and cut a tiny hole which worked great.
• Allow the border to dry for a few minutes then fill in the middle with a bit of a thinner consistency. If adding sprinkles on top of the icing, add them right after you’ve iced.
• Let the iced cookies completely dry before storing. The icing will harden as it dries and you will be able to stack the cookies.