This simple and quick bakery recipe for mini sugar cookies is easy to follow and makes scrumptious soft cookies. They aren't too sweet, with a thick and soft buttery texture on the inside. They're paired with Amycakes Bakery's house vanilla buttercream recipe.
Using a stand mixer (preferred) or handheld mixer, cream the soft butter and sugar just until the butter is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed.
Add the egg and vanilla and almond extracts. Continue to beat on medium--the mixture will separate at first but keep beating just until it comes back together to a more uniform liquid, scraping the bowl as needed.
On low, slowly pour the whisked dry ingredients into the dough, and continue to mix just until it is fully incorporated and a smooth and uniform dough. Avoid overbeating.
Using a 1-ounce cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto a parchment paper-lined sheet pan or cookie sheet. (Alternatively, if you don't have a cookie scoop, divide the dough into 13 equal balls--about 2 Tablespoons each).
Bake the cookies in the preheated 325 degree oven on the middle or top rack (avoid bottom rack) for 10 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are only lightly golden, and the tops of the cookies have lost most of their shine.
Frost the Cookies
Prepare the House Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. Dye some of it with gel food color, if desired.
Using a 1M star tip and a disposable piping bag, frost each cookie with a swirl of buttercream and the sprinkles of your choice.
Store the cookies in an airtight container and serve at room temperature. If the frosted sugar cookies aren't eaten within 24 hours, store them in the fridge, but bring them back to room temperature before eating. Enjoy!
Notes
Read my article Instant Clearjel: a Magical Little-Known Bakery Ingredient to see why I think this ingredient is worth having in your pantry. Instant Clearjel must always be whisked thoroughly with other dry ingredients before being added to wet ingredients to avoid clumping. (Make sure what you use is labeled as “Instant"). Instant Pudding mix works similarly as it contains Instant Clearjel (modified cornstarch) as the second ingredient. Adding one of these is optional--these cookies are still delicious but do spread a little bit in the oven without it.
You will have extra frosting when making the suggested batch size of the house vanilla buttercream recipe, but I find it's better to have extra frosting than not enough, especially when dying colors and using multiple frosting bags. Feel free to halve the frosting recipe if you don't need as much frosting on your cookies and/or if you are only using one color of frosting.
Recipe revised slightly on 10-10-22--see Recipe Revisions page for more.