It has been a long time since I’ve seriously considered not baking on a Sunday. It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I spent all day working on a paper. I still hadn’t started reading for my other classes. And I was tired.

But then I remembered what I had told myself at the beginning of law school: if I didn’t have time to bake, I was taking myself too seriously. There really isn’t an excuse not to take a couple hours out of my weekend to do something I enjoy, and I really had been dying to try the cookie roller Marj got me for Christmas.

So I buckled down, finished (kinda) my paper, and treated myself to some elephant cookie baking.

I’ve made elephant sugar cookies before – my very first post on the blog. But I’m pretty sure that recipe wouldn’t hold the shape of the roller nearly as well. So sugar cookies are worth a repeat recipe post.

First, cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Add the flour and salt, a little at a time, beating after each addition until dough comes together and can be shaped by hand. Take about half the dough out of the bowl and roll out on a mat dusted with flour.Use a cookie roll dusted with flour to stamp the dough.Then, use cookie cutters to cut the cookies into the desired shape.Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 5 to 7 minutes at 390°F or until lightly golden.Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.Look at how well the elephants came out! I was not expecting them to hold their shape like this.Hands down the cutest cookies I’ve ever made. I’m a bit obsessed.I even decided that I could get a bit meta and make elephant-shaped elephant-stamped cookies.Elephants on elephants! There isn’t much better.Anyways, I’ll stop with the gratuitous pictures. They really are awesome.

Store them in an airtight container. Or a cookie jar.

Enjoy!

Cookie Roller Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 175 grams confectioners’ sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 400 grams flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment until fluffy.
2. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
3. Add the flour and salt in small portions and beat until dough comes together and can be shaped into a ball.
4. Roll dough out on floured surface.
5. Use cookie roll to press pattern into dough. Use cookie cutter to cut cookies.
6. Bake at 390°F for 5 to 7 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets until just begin to brown.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.