The BEST Soft Sugar Cookies EVER

I was in the mood for cookies the other day, and my daily 4 o'clock suggested Sugar Cookies.  Jeff seconded the motion.  Best idea of the week!   So, I found this recipe for the softest, most delicious sugar cookies EVER.

Oh. My. Gosh. They're so dang good. They're soft, they're good, they're delicious, they're soft... I ate myself sick on dough, then ate myself sick on cookies. I never even got around to frosting them, I just ate them warm as soon as they came out of the oven. When I did I want frosting, I just dipped them right into the batch of frosting I made while they had chilled.  Sick, I know.  That's how good they were.  I decided I had to take a picture the day after I made them, so the frosting got a little clumpy when I tried to ice a couple.  Oh well. 

For the cookies you will need:
4½ cups all-purpose flour
4½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used salted because it was all I had, and then used a smidge less salt than called for, tasted great anyway)
1½ cups sugar
3 large eggs (room temperature)
5 tsp. vanilla extract

For the frosting:
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
7-8 tbsp. milk (plus more, as needed)
Food coloring (you don't have to, but it's cute)
Sprinkles (if you're into that kind of thing)
Directions:

To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (or just spray them with Pam). In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and whisk together to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated and evenly mixed. Lick the beaters clean. Cover and chill the dough for an hour.

If you can keep yourself from eating all of the dough, roll it into balls. I found that pretty much whatever shape you put them on the cookie sheet, they stayed in that shape. I scooped a spoonful out, rolled them into balls and gently flattened them. Bake them about 8-10 minutes, taking them out of the oven before they have brown edges. Brown edges=no good. I found with the first batch that if I could just barely touch the top of the cookie and it wasn't doughy, they were perfect. Whatever I didn't shove into my mouth when they came out of the oven was left to cool on the cookie sheet.