Stephanie's Sugar Cookies
2 C Softened Butter
1 1/2 C Granulated Sugar
4 Egg Yolks
2 t Vanilla Extract
4 1/2 C All-Purpose Flour
Using your KitchenAid Mixer, cream together your softened butter and granulated sugar, until fully incorporated. While your mixer is on slow speed, gradually add your egg yolks and vanilla, but do not over mix. Lastly, add your flour a little at a time, until your dough is fully mixed. It will be sticky.
Lay down a sheet of parchment paper, and sprinkle a little bit of flour down before you add 1/2 to 1/3 of your dough to roll. I sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour too - it will not hurt anything. Using a rolling pin, roll your dough evenly to your desired thickness. I prefer my cookies perfectly flat and pretty thick, so I use 5/8" trim on either side of the dough, as a track for my rolling pin. Transfer your entire parchment sheet (with rolled dough on top) to a baking sheet. Wrap the baking sheet well with saran wrap, and let the dough chill overnight (up to 3 days). Repeat this step until all of your dough is rolled out. The colder the dough is, the easier it will be to cut.
When you are ready to bake your cookies: preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with a silpat mat. Pull one baking sheet of dough out at a time. I like to cut my shapes directly off of the baking sheet/parchment paper, but that step is up to you. Cut your shapes, while paying attention to the size of the cutter you are using - the baking times will vary on cookies of different sizes, so I suggest cutting and baking the same shapes together. Depending on the size of your cookie, they will bake for anywhere between 9-11 minutes - I pull them out as soon as the sheen is off of the top of the cookie. Let the cookies rest for 3-5 minutes before moving them from the baking sheet to a cooling rack. I suggest lining the cooling rack with a sheet of parchment paper or a paper towel to avoid lines forming on the bottom of your cookies. I compile the scraps from my pre-rolled dough and form them into a new ball of dough to roll and cut (and repeat...I hate wasting dough!)
Once the cookies have cooled, you can ice them. I prefer to store them in an air tight container overnight and ice them the following day (or the day after that). This process is very easy, but obviously time consuming - in my experience, it is more enjoyable when you can spread out the steps and clean up in between.