Halloween Sugar Cookies

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup butter and 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract, and 1 cup sour cream until well combined.
2. In another bowl, whisk together 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
3. Divide the dough in half, wrap each portion in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
4. After chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll out the dough on a baker's mat or parchment paper. If the dough is sticky, add an extra ¼ to ½ cup of flour. Use Halloween-themed cookie cutters dusted with flour to cut shapes.
5. Bake the cookies for 8 to 9 minutes, until the bottoms are just barely golden. Be careful not to overbake. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. For the buttercream, combine ¾ cup butter, 3 ½ cups powdered sugar, 3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Divide the frosting into 2 or 3 bowls. Leave one bowl white, tint another with orange food coloring, and if making candy corn cookies, tint the third with yellow.
7. Once the cookies are cool, frost pumpkin-shaped cookies with orange frosting. For ghost cookies, use white frosting and add two candy eyes. For candy corn cookies, frost the tip with white, the middle with orange, and the top with yellow.