These Cut-Out Sugar Cookies are soft and they melt in your mouth with a just-right balance of sweetness; use your favorite shapes and decorate your way!
Stir together: flour, baking soda, cream of tartar.
In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, blend together the powdered sugar and room temperature butter.
Add in the egg and vanilla, continuing to beat until mixed.
Add in the dry ingredient mixture (flour, baking soda, cream of tartar) and mix until combined.
Chill dough overnight. I recommend dividing dough into two discs and wrapping in plastic wrap before chilling; this will make it much easier to roll out the next day.
After chilling, pre-heat oven to 375°F.
Roll dough to 1/8th of an inch thick. Using whichever shape cut outs you desire, cut out and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 6-8 minutes, until barely beginning to brown. Make sure you take the cookies out when they're just set and barely beginning to brown - this ensures they stay soft!
Place on cooling rack to cool.
FROSTING:
Combine powdered sugar, milk, and food coloring (if using) in bowl; stir to combine. Add milk or powdered sugar to reach desired consistency. Frost cookies and let dry before storing in an airtight container. See notes regarding border/flooding.
Notes
If you want to have a border of icing around the cookie, start by mixing the amount of powdered sugar and milk listed under "border" in the ingredients. This thicker layer of icing allows the thinner layer of icing to remain on the cookie neatly, without dripping off. Once you've put the border around the cookie using a piping bag, allow to dry. Then mix the amount of powdered sugar and milk listed under "flood" in the ingredient list; spoon into the middle of the cookie and spread out to the border to "fill" the space.I used 15 drops of red food coloring to obtain the pink in the pictures.