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Basketball Sugar Cookies

Home cook, taken with iPhone 14 Pro. Close-up slight angle of freshly prepared basketball sugar cookies on white plate. Mouthwatering --ar 4:3 --style raw --s 240

Celebrate game day with these fun and festive Basketball Sugar Cookies—classic, buttery sugar cookies decorated with orange icing and black piping to resemble basketballs.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons buttermilk
  • Orange royal icing (for decorating)
  • Black icing or edible marker (for basketball lines)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
  2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.
  4. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
  5. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
  6. Add buttermilk, one tablespoon at a time, until dough is soft but not sticky.
  7. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
  8. Flatten each ball slightly with the bottom of a glass.
  9. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden.
  10. Allow cookies to cool completely on wire racks.
  11. Once cooled, decorate each cookie with orange royal icing and outline basketball lines with black icing or edible marker.

Notes

For best results, let the decorated cookies dry overnight to set the icing before packaging or serving.