Sugar Cookies with Easy Icing

1. In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until combined, set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg, beat until combined. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.
4. Add the flour mixture and mix until well combined. Dough should be coming together in a large mass and no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl.
5. Prepare a sheet of parchment paper. Divide the dough in half. Place half of the dough into the first sheet of parchment paper, form it into a disc. Place a second piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick between the pieces of parchment paper. Leaving the dough sandwiched between the parchment layers, transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours. Repeat this with the second ball of dough.
6. Adjust oven racks to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. When ready to bake, prepare 2 baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat. Set aside.
7. Remove 1 dough sheet from the refrigerator. Place on your work surface. Peel off the top parchment sheet and gently lay it back in place. Flip the dough over; peel off and discard second parchment layer. This is an IMPORTANT step to keep the dough from sticking to the parchment. Use cookie cutters to cut cookies into desired shapes. Transfer cut shapes to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Reserve dough scraps to re-roll.
8. If you plan to bake two sheets at once, place the first baking sheet of cookie shapes into the fridge while you repeat the process with the second dough sheet.
9. When ready to bake, place the baking sheets in the oven, bake 11-17 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Cookies are done when starting to turn golden on the edges and a fingertip barely leaves an imprint when gently touched.
10. Remove baking sheets from oven, allow cookies to remain on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a large metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to continue cooling. Allow to cool completely before decorating with icing.

To make the cookie icing

1. Use a flour sifter or a fine mesh sieve to sift the powdered sugar and remove any lumps.
2. Add sugar, corn syrup, 5 tablespoons milk, vanilla and salt to a medium bowl. Whisk together until fully combined.
3. If glaze is too thick or dry, whisk in more milk one tablespoon at a time. If glaze is too thin, more powdered sugar can be added a little at a time until desired consistency is achieved. To test sonsitency, lift whisk and allow icing to drizzle back into the bowl in ribbons. The ribbons should hold their shape for 4-5 seconds before dissolving back into the icing.
4. Glaze can be left white or tinted different colors. I recommend using gel food coloring. Divide glaze into different bowls and add coloring as desired. Transfer glaze to piping bags or squeeze bottles for decorating. You can also use a zip top bag if you don't have piping bags, or even leave the glaze in the bowls and apply to cookies with a spoon or knife. The piping bags or bottles will be more neat, but any of these methods will work.