Dinosaur Fossil Sugar Cookies (Basic Sugar Cookie Recipe)

Boys are weird.  I have lots of evidence to back this claim up but the most relevant is that they enjoy eating cookies with reptile footprints in them.

Weeeeeeeeiiiird.

This is a great basic sugar cookie recipe. The cookies don't spread much so they are perfect to use with cookie cutters and they taste great with or without frosting.

Dinosaur footprints are, of course, optional. 

Dinosaur Fossil Sugar Cookies

Cookie recipe adapted from Our Best Bites

Idea from Buggie and Jellybean

-1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
-1 cup sugar
-1 large egg

-1/4 c sour cream
-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-3 cups flour (15 oz.)
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 min). Add egg, sour cream, and extract and mix until combined.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.  Slowly add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix well.

For slice and bake cookies (this is what I did for the dino cookies): Shape dough into a log and place in the middle of a Pam-sprayed piece of plastic wrap and wrap tightly like a big candy. Place in fridge for an hour or until well-chilled.  Slice into round cookies.

Press a clean dinosaur toy foot into each cookie.  (These cookies will puff up a bit so don't be afraid to do it really deep!)  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  (I think they look cooler the more cinnamon you use.)  Bake at 350 about 8-10 minutes.

For cut-out cookies:  You can put the dough in the fridge for an hour or until well-chilled.  Then roll out and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.  (You will probably need some flour or Pam on your surface to keep the dough from sticking as you roll it out.)

OR

You can roll soft non-chilled dough out between 2 pieces of parchment paper, then place the whole thing on a cookie sheet (parchment still attached on top/bottom.)  Chill for about half an hour.  Remove top sheet of parchment and cut shapes out of dough.  (Save excess dough to repeat the process with.)  Bake cookies (still on the bottom layer of parchment) at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. 

I like this method because the dough is easier to roll out when it's soft and you don't have to add more flour.  Also, you don't have to move your cookies once they are cut out- you can just bake them right on the parchment paper/cookie sheet.

Note: If you're looking for a pipeable sugar cookie frosting to put on top of these, this one is my favorite.