Ingredients:

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

2 3/4 c. flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Add baking powder and flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix well. The dough will be stiff, blend last cup of flour in by hand. Bake 6-7 minutes without toppings. If toppings have been added, add 2-3 more minutes.

We’re going to put a new twist on an old school recipe this week. You’ve all had sugar cookies; they’re the base of all cookie dough. Sugar cookies are basically the keystone of baking. They can be used for anything from pie crust to fruit cookies to plain sugar cookies. The Internet can’t tell me how long sugar cookies have been around but it’s probably one of the oldest recipes you can think of. This recipe is great because it only has a few ingredients and all can be found at dollar stores. This is my go-to recipe for when I have a weekend to myself, a girls’ night, or just a family gathering. It’s so adaptable that nobody ever has to know if this is your one trick. Sugar cookies are usually decorated or cut into fancy shapes. If you don’t have a cookie cutter on hand, you can go to the dollar store. But, I thought it would be fun to have a custom-made cookie cutter. Our school has the privilege of being one of the few that gives students access to a 3-D printer. I decided to use the 3-D printer to make 3-D airplanes out of cookies. The printer has a base of $2, with an additional 20¢ per gram. You can make any kind of cookie cutter you want. You can adapt this article to your needs, as you see fit. If you’re partial to a store-bought cookie dough, use that. If you want to ice your sugar cookie, our local dollar store has icing kits and icing. In addition, you can add any kind of topping to your dough (chocolate chips, nuts, etc.) This entire recipe can be made for $15 or less, even if you don’t already have some of the ingredients on hand.