Noel Sugar Cookies

In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat sugar, butter, baking powder, and salt until blended. Increase speed to high, beat until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low, add milk, vanilla extract, and egg, beat until blended. (Mixture may appear curdled.)

With wooden spoon, stir in flour until blended. Shape dough into 2 balls, flatten each slightly. Wrap each with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle. (Or, place dough in freezer 30 minutes.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll 1 piece of dough 1/8 inch thick, keeping remaining dough refrigerated. With floured 3- to 4-inch assorted cookie cutters, cut dough into as many cookies as possible, reserve trimmings. Place cookies, about 1 inch apart, on 2 ungreased large cookie sheets. Reroll trimmings and cut out more cookies. If you like, with toothpick or skewer, make 1 or 2 holes in top of each cookie for hanging on wreath or tree later.

Bake cookies on 2 oven racks 12 to 15 minutes until golden around edges, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower racks halfway through baking time. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.

When cookies are cool, prepare Ornamental Frosting , use to decorate cookies as desired. Set cookies aside to allow frosting to dry completely, at least 1 hour. If not using right away, store in tightly covered container.

For wreath or tree decoration, tie nylon fishing line through hole in each cookie to make a loop for hanging.