I actually did quite a few little creative things this weekend which I am just now getting around to posting about. One of these was to make cookies for the fellows that Christian works with at EMC. They are a tiny part of EMC called 404 User Experience Design. 404 is actually the room number they were assigned when they moved to their new office a few years ago. This is funny to web guys because of the obvious 404 Page Not Found joke.

In honor of 404, I made these cookies for the guys:
I used Sandy Bembenek’s awesome sugar cookie recipe, here it is. The secret to the icing is to sift the powdered sugar!

Cut Out Cookies
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup butter or margarine
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Mix sugar and butter until smooth, light, and fluffy Add egg and flavorings.
Mix well and then add the dry ingredients
Refrigerate at least 3 hours (you can do a quick chill in the freezer for 1 hour if using butter not margarine)
Roll out and cut into shapes
Place parchment paper on cookie sheet and bake cookies at 375º F for 7-8 minutes
Cool at least 15 minutes before icing

Buttercream Frosting
1/3 cup butter
2 cups confectioners sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons cool milk or cream

Beat butter several minutes until creamy
Add sugar ½ cup at a time, beating well each time
Add vanilla, then milk or cream and beat well again (if it gets too stiff, stick the bowl in the microwave for 10 second increments)