Basic Cut Out Sugar Cookie Food

THE BEST CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE

Steps:

• Cream together butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer.
• Add vanilla and eggs and beat until combined.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt and beat until combined.
• Divide dough into two equal portions.
• Shape each piece of dough into a round, flat disc and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
• Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line two to four large baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
• Remove one sugar cookie dough disc from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes to soften slightly.
• Place sugar cookie dough on a floured surface and roll to ½" or ¼" thickness (thicker = softer cookies).
• Use your favorite cookie cutter shapes and cut out the dough and place them 1" apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
• Repeat until all the dough is used. You can gather and re-roll the dough scraps two additional times (3 times total).
• Use a pastry brush and brush the cookies with a little bit of milk or cream. Then decorate with sprinkles, which will stick to the milk/cream.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 9-10 minutes or until cookies are puffed and just set around the edges.
• Remove and let sit on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Repeat with second disc of dough.
• Combine all frosting ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
• Start with 2 TBS milk and increase until your desired consistency is achieved.
• If using food coloring, separate frosting into smaller bowls and add food coloring to your liking.
• Place each color in a disposable piping bag fitted with your tip of choice.
• Once cookies are completely cooled, decorate cookies.
• Let decorated cookies sit at room temperature for at least 3 hours, or until the frosting is completely hardened. Chilling them in the refrigerator helps speed up the setting process.
• Store in an airtight container or on a plate wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and chill for 2-3 hours or until easy to handle. , On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 6-8 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. , For icing, cream the butter and shortening in a bowl. Add vanilla and salt. Gradually add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add milk; beat until light and fluffy. Tint icing with desired colors of food coloring; decorate the cookies.

EASY CUT-OUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; set aside.
• Place sugar and butter into bowl of heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat at medium speed until well combined. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract; beat until well mixed. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed until just combined.
• While removing dough from bowl, knead to incorporate crumbs and form smooth dough. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness.
• Cut into shapes with 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until just beginning to brown around edges. Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely.
• For directions to achieve a marbled look, follow the steps in The Royal Icing Technique You Need to Know This Holiday Season.

EASY CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, flour, melted butter and egg until soft dough forms.
• On floured surface, roll dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes with 3-inch cookie cutters. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts 2 inches apart.
• Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• In medium bowl, beat powdered sugar, 2 to 4 tablespoons milk and the vanilla with spoon until smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too stiff to spread, add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Tint with food color. Spread frosting on cooled cookies. Decorate as desired with candy sprinkles and colored sugars. Let stand about 30 minutes or until frosting is set. Store covered in airtight container at room temperature with waxed paper between layers.

BASIC SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy (1 to 2 minutes). Add egg and vanilla and continue beating until mixture looks smooth (2 minutes). Incorporate flour and salt into butter mixture in low speed. Scrape down sides if bowl. Shape into 2 disks. Wrap disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Roll out, cut into desired shapes and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven on lightly greased cookie sheets for 8 to 10 minutes.

CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and moving towards moussiness, then beat in the egg and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, and mix gently but surely. If you think the finished mixture is too sticky to be rolled out, add more flour, but do so sparingly as too much will make the dough tough. Form into a fat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Sprinkle a suitable surface with flour, place disk of dough on it, and sprinkle a little more flour on top of that. Then roll it out to a thickness of about 1/4-inch. Cut into shapes, dipping the cutter into flour as you go, and place the cookies a little apart on 2 parchment or silpat lined baking sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 12 minutes; obviously it depends on the shape you're using and whether they are on the upper or lower shelf, though you can swap them around after about 5 minutes. When they're ready expect them to be tinged a pronounced gold around the edges; they'll be softish still in the middle, but set while they cool.
• Remove the cookies with a flat, preferably flexible, spatula to a wire rack. When they are fully cooled, you can get on with the icing. Put a couple of tablespoons of not-quite-boiling water into a large bowl, add the sieved confectioners sugar and mix together, adding more water as you need to form a thick paste. Color,as desired. I think pastes are much better than liquid, not just because the range of colors is better but because they don't dilute the icing as they tint. Ice cooled cookies, as desired.

SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

CHRISTMAS CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a bowl, stir together flour and baking powder. In another bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy and light. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, a third at a time to make a stiff dough. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll out a portion of cookie dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Place on lightly greased or nonstick cookie sheets. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minute, rotating baking sheet halfway through cooking time. Cool completely on pans about 5 minutes, transfer to cooling racks and cool completely before decorating.
• In a small bowl, mix sugar and water to form a thick, smooth icing. Stir in food coloring to reach desired shade. Drop icing onto cookies using a small teaspoon and smooth with the back of the spoon. Make additional bowls for additional colors.
• Additional multi-colored sprinkles can be added on top of icing before it dries for more decorative cookies, if desired.

PERFECT CUT-OUT COOKIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Blend egg and vanilla extract into the butter mixture.
• Stir flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl; mix into the butter mixture until just incorporated. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Remove from refrigerator and let the dough warm to room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll dough out onto a flat surface to about 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut dough into shapes with cookie cutters; arrange onto baking sheets.
• Bake cookies until firm in the center, but not yet browning, 8 to 12 minutes. Let cool briefly on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.