Celebrating National Sugar Cookie Day (With Recipe & Baking Tips)
Liza loves obscure holidays—especially those that celebrate food and beverages.
Happy National Sugar Cookie Day
What Is National Sugar Cookie Day?
National Sugar Cookie Day is celebrated on July 9th by bakeries, cookie shops, and home bakers across the United States. To celebrate this day, I'd like to share some of my tips and photos to help you bake these yummy treats!
In my baking experience, sugar cookies are one of the easiest types of cookies to make. The recipe requires only very basic ingredients—butter, flour, vanilla essence, sugar, and baking soda—and the cookies taste great plain or decorated.
A Brief History of the Sugar Cookie
As we all know, sugar cookies are an addictive holiday essential that comes in all shapes and sizes and are typically topped with colored icing. The sugar cookie history is believed to have originated in the mid-1700s in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. German Protestant settlers created a round, crumbly, and buttery cookie that came to be known as the Nazareth Cookie.
How to Shape and Bake the Cookie
To shape the cookies, you can use a cookie-cutter, cookie press, knife, or piping bag. The cookies take about 10-12 minutes to bake. After the cookies come out of the oven, you will notice that they are softer in the middle, but after you set them out on a wire rack to cool, they will harden within a few minutes. Later, if you like, you can decorate the cookies by just piping icing on top.
Let's make sugar cookies!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Frosting Ingredients
- 3 cups icing sugar
- 5 tablespoons water (add more if the glaze is very thick)
- Food coloring (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease the baking sheet).
- In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Use a hand mixer to beat the ingredients until they are well combined.
- Add the egg yolk, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt into the butter mixture. Continue mixing until combined.
- Gradually add the flour into the wet mixture. Mix until it's well combined.
- Take out the dough and roll out to your preferred thickness. Use a cookie cutter, cookie press, knife, or piping bag to shape the cookies.
- Place the cookies onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of cookies are turning golden brown.
- Transfer the cookies onto a wire rack to let cool completely before decorating.
- Glaze icing: Combine the icing sugar with water in a bowl. Add food coloring of your choice. Mix until it's well combined.
- Decorate the cooled cookies with glaze icing.
- Store in an airtight container for up to one week.
How to Shape the Cookies
How to Decorate the Cookies
How to Celebrate National Sugar Cookie Day
- Make sugar cookies at home.
- Decorate sugar cookies with glaze icing.
- Snap some photos of the sugar cookies you make and share them on social media with the hashtag #nationalsugarcookieday.
- Check with your local cafés and bakeries to see if they are offering free/discounted sugar cookies or limited-edition flavors in celebration of the holiday.
- Enjoy cookies with a cup of your favorite coffee, tea, or even a glass of milk!
© 2020 Liza
Comments
Liza (author) from USA on August 01, 2020:
You're welcome, Abby. I had fun making cookies that day. Thank you for commenting. Have a great weekend!
Abby Slutsky from America on August 01, 2020:
These look very delicious. Thanks for telling us a little bit about the history too.
Liza (author) from USA on July 18, 2020:
Hi Lakshmi, thank you for commenting. Have a nice weekend.
Lakshmi from Chennai on July 18, 2020:
Hi liza...it was an interesting article...
Liza (author) from USA on July 14, 2020:
Hi Prithviraj, so kind of you to acknowledge that. I really appreciate your effort. Thank you. Have a great week!
Prithviraj Shirole from India on July 14, 2020:
Hey Liza,
You are welcome. And sorry for the spelling mistake which i did in the previous comment.
Have a nice day!
Liza (author) from USA on July 14, 2020:
Thank you, Prithviraj :)
Prithviraj Shirole from India on July 14, 2020:
Amazing cookie recipe, Linda. I was not aware of National Cookie Day. Thanks for giving information on it. And that heart shaped bird cookie is really looking sweet and cute. Thanks for the recipe.
Liza (author) from USA on July 14, 2020:
Hi Kyriaki, you know what?
Christmas this year, I would like to decorate the same color you've mentioned. I think it would be so pretty! Thanks for the idea!
By the way, I saw many stores sold sugar cookies on national sugar cookie day with different toppings. They were in different colors and images. I love them.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
Liza (author) from USA on July 14, 2020:
Hi Linda, yea, as a fan of sugar cookies, I was happy making these sweet treats at home. Sugar cookies are very popular treats during Christmas and I love the decorations! Thank you for commenting.
Liza (author) from USA on July 14, 2020:
Hi Alyssa, I know a lot of people didn't realize there is national sugar cookie day. I have a reminder on my calendar. I save obscure holidays that I love the most so, I can make something special on that day. I think it's fun thing to celebrate with family and friends.
Kyriaki Chatzi on July 14, 2020:
National Sugar Cookie Day sounds like my kind of holiday! Hahaha!
I really liked your idea of adding food coloring to the sugar coating.
Perhaps I'll add some green and red food coloring to the mix when Christmas rolls around to give them a festive touch.
Thank you for the idea, Liza!
Linda Crampton from British Columbia, Canada on July 13, 2020:
A National Sugar Cookie Day sounds like a great idea. The only time I eat sugar cookies is at Christmas. Now that I've read your article, I'm very tempted to eat them more often!
Alyssa from Ohio on July 13, 2020:
You had me at sugar cookies :) I did not know there was a national day set aside for them and I'm a little sad I missed it. But I think we can enjoy sugar cookies year round haha! Great recipe!
Liza (author) from USA on July 12, 2020:
You're welcome, Robert :)
Robert Sacchi on July 12, 2020:
Thanks for the recipe. I'll have to give it a try someday..
Danny from India on July 12, 2020:
You too have a wonderful weekend Liza
Liza (author) from USA on July 11, 2020:
Hi Rachel, you're welcome. Actually, many people didn't realize about the national day. It's not something official but, I like celebrating anything with the food themes :)
Rachel Alba on July 11, 2020:
Hi Liza, I didn't know there was a Sugar Cookie Day. What a nice thing to celebrate. I love sugar cookies too. Thanks for sharing your information and recipe.
Blessings to you.
Liza (author) from USA on July 10, 2020:
Hi Janisa, there is a national day on the US calendar all year long. I enjoy it because it's a fun thing to do with family and friends. Thank you for commenting. I hope you'll like the cookies. Have a great weekend :)
Liza (author) from USA on July 10, 2020:
Hi Ivana, you're welcome. I have the same thought as you. I don't mind to celebrate national day like this because I love baking cookies. Thanks for commenting.
Janisa from Earth on July 10, 2020:
Wow, i had no clue that such a holiday existed!!! I love cookies, so maybe I'll try this recipe :)
Ivana Divac from Serbia on July 10, 2020:
This is really interesting. Informative and well-written. The recipe seems great too. Thank you for sharing!
Liza (author) from USA on July 10, 2020:
Sugar cookies with the US flag? That's nice. By the way, you're right, Peggy. I thought it is a fun thing to celebrate with family and friends. Most of the time, I prefer a national day with food themes :) because I enjoy cooking or baking for my family.
Peggy Woods from Houston, Texas on July 10, 2020:
A neighbor gave us some sugar cookies that had colors of the U.S. flag for icing. I guess that there is a national holiday for just about everything these days. (Smile) Thanks for your recipe.
Liza (author) from USA on July 10, 2020:
Hi Danny, I love the obscure holiday. I think it's a fun thing to do with your family. Thanks for commenting and have a great weekend!
Danny from India on July 10, 2020:
Nice recipe. I was not aware of National cookie day, thanks though.
