Sugar Cookies

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• 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and more if needed
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3-4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Icing:

2 egg whites

2 tsp lemon juice

3 cups powdered sugar

OR 

1 c powder sugar
2 tsp milk
2 tsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
- first stir sugar and milk until smooth, then add corn syrup until smooth and glossy

Directions

1. Make the cookies: Sift flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Divide dough in half. Flatten each half into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Let dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Roll out each disk on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4-inch thickness, adding more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Cut out cookies, transferring to parchment-lined baking sheets as you work. Roll out scraps, and repeat once. Freeze cookies until very firm, about 15 minutes.
3. Bake cookies at 325, switching positions of sheets and rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 17 to 19 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on sheets on wire racks.