After a bit of an off-season hiatus, I'm egg-cited to get back in the kitchen! (Haw haw.) 



With Easter coming up, I asked my mom for her sugar cookie recipe so that I could share it with yinz. Kathy makes these cookies every Easter - hers are blue, pink and green pastel bunnies and chicks. Though we still have a few months to go until the Steelers return to training camp, the Buccos are back and baseball season is in full swing. Thus, I decided to decorate these sugar cookies with both the Pirates and Steelers in mind. 



The recipe is straight forward and relatively simple. As Kathy says, it's all about the icing! So break out your favorite cookie cutters and get decorating.



Oh, and in case you haven't heard, the Steelers announced their 2014 preseason schedule this week. Looks like the black and gold will be making a trip to my neck of the woods week three!

Mom's Easter Sugar Cookies

For the cookies
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp lemon zest

For the icing
3 cups confectioners sugar, divided
6 tbsp milk
food coloring

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together in large mixing bowl with mixer on medium speed. Scrape down sides, then mix in egg, followed by vanilla. Sift together flour and baking powder in separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet in 3 additions with mixer on low. Add lemon zest to dough, then form into a ball. (Dough will be fairly dry and crumbly.)

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness, cut cookies and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Form dough scraps into ball, roll out and cut again. Repeat until all dough is used.

Whisk together 1 cup confectioners sugar and 2 tbsp milk in a small bowl. Icing should be a thick, syrupy consistency (You can adjust sugar/milk ratio to reach desired consistency.) Add 2-3 drops food coloring. Repeat for different colors. Once cookies have cooled, spoon icing on top and decorate with writing icing.