Christmas Cookie Cut Outs Food

CLASSIC CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, the butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, almond extract and egg until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
• Heat oven to 375°F. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough 3/16 inch thick. Cut into assorted shapes with cookie cutters, or cut around patterns traced from storybook illustrations. If cookies are to be hung as decorations, make a hole in each 1/4 inch from top with end of plastic straw. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In medium bowl, beat all frosting ingredients until smooth and spreadable. Tint with food color if desired. Frost and decorate cookies as desired with frosting and colored sugars.

CHRISTMAS COOKIE CUT OUTS

Steps:

• Sift together flour, cream of tarter, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a bowl; set aside. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla with the last egg. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Cover and refrigerate dough overnight.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with Christmas cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. If using cutters that have small appendages, such as reindeer legs, reduce the baking time or they will overcook. Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Beat the butter and confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl, mixture will be stiff. Add the vanilla and slowly mix in the milk a little at a time until a spreading consistency is reached. Stir in food coloring, if desired. Make sure cookies are completely cool before frosting.

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.

MOM'S CHRISTMAS SUGAR CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper.
• Mix confectioners' sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, and almond extract in a bowl with an electric mixer until it comes together well and butter is not clumpy. Slowly mix in baking soda and cream of tarter, then flour. When the dough becomes tougher to mix, use your hands to mash and knead until the dough is completely formed.
• Transfer dough to a large, floured work surface. Carefully roll to a thickness of about 1 centimeter or a little more; the thicker the dough, the softer the cookie. (These cookies will puff up in the oven.) Add flour to your work surface, the dough, and the rolling pin as needed.
• Cut out as many shapes as you can cleverly fit in the dough. Remove any extra dough from the perimeters of your cookies. Save all the scraps and roll into another ball for the next round of rolling and cutting out cookies.
• Delicately transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 1 inch of space between each one.
• Bake one tray at a time on the middle rack of the preheated oven, until cookies are still white on top and have fluffed up, 7 to 8 minutes. If they brown lightly along the edges, they should be removed immediately. Let the cookies sit on the tray for 1 minute and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool while you bake the second sheet of cookies.
• While cookies are cooling, prepare frosting by beating butter, egg white, and vanilla together in a bowl until creamy. Slowly mix in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Divide frosting into smaller bowls. Add 2 to 3 drops food coloring per bowl and mix well.
• Apply a thick layer of frosting to cooled cookies, spreading as smoothly as you can. Leave cookies on wire racks and cover with waxed paper. Let sit until frosting has hardened, 8 hours to overnight.

BUTTERY CUT-OUT CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine the first five ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
• Beat at about medium speed until well combined and creamy, about 3-4 minutes.
• Gradually add flour, and beat until well mixed, about 2-3 minutes more.
• Divide dough in half, and wrap each on in plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate until firm, at least two hours.
• Preheat oven to 375°.
• Roll out dough half on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4" thick.
• Keep the other half in the fridge until ready to use.
• Cut out the shapes your prefer, using a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter.
• Place 1" apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• (I lined my sheets with nonstick "release" foil).
• If I'm making Christmas cookie shapes, I sprinkle the cookies with red, green, or multi-colored sugars before baking.
• Bake for 7-9 minutes or until edges are just slightly browned.
• Note: I find 8 minutes is the magic number for my oven. These cookies may also be baked plain, and decorated with icings after they are cooled.

CUTOUT CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder salt, nutmeg and cloves; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Chill for at least 1 hour. , On a lightly floured surface, roll dough, a portion at a time, to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate as desired with frosting or confectioners' sugar., To Make Ahead: Dough can be made 2 days in advance. Wrap in plastic and place in a resealable bag. Store in the refrigerator., Freeze option: Freeze undecorated cookies in freezer containers. To use, thaw in covered containers and decorate as directed.

ELAINE'S HOLIDAY CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIES - CHRISTMAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375.
• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, to chill dough before rolling.
• Roll dough thickly. (about 1/4"). If you roll them too thin, they are hard to work with.
• Cut shapes, and put on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake 10-12 minutes.
• Cool on rack.
• Frost with your favorite frosting, icing, or glaze.

SUGAR COOKIE CUT-OUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer.
• Beat in the egg and vanilla.
• In another bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder.
• Add the flour/baking powder mixture one cup at a time, mixing after each addition. (The dough will be very stiff; blend the last flour in by hand.).
• Do NOT chill the dough.
• Divide dough into 2 balls.
• On a floured surface, roll each ball into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick.
• Cut cookies into desired shapes, dipping cookie cutters in flour before each use.
• Decorate with gel and crystal sprinkle decorations, if desired.
• Bake on ungreased baking sheet on middle rack of oven for 6 to 10 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned.
• Cool 2 to 3 minutes before removing and cooling on a baking grid/cooling rack.
• You can sprinkle cocoa powder on the cookies if desired (looks good if you're making reindeer shaped cookies).
• Cookies may be frozen in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 months.

CHRISTMAS BUTTER COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. On low speed, beat in egg, lemon peel and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until well blended.
• Divide dough into 4 parts; flatten each part into 1/2-inch-thick round. Wrap each in waxed paper or plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Remove 1 round of dough at a time from refrigerator. Between sheets of floured waxed paper or plastic wrap, roll dough until 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick. Cut with 3-inch cookie cutters in various shapes. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts 1 inch apart.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or just until edges are golden. Cool on cookie sheets about 1 minute before removing to cooling rack. To make cookies for hanging, using a toothpick or end of plastic straw, carefully poke a hole in the top of each cookie while cookies are still hot. Cool 10 to 15 minutes before frosting.
• In medium bowl, stir together powdered sugar and meringue powder. Stir in 5 teaspoons lemon juice and enough of the 4 to 5 tablespoons water to make a thin icing. Transfer 1/2 cup of the icing into small bowl; set aside. Using a flexible pastry brush, paint cookies to the edges with icing. Place on cooling rack to dry completely, about 30 minutes.
• Beat reserved icing with electric mixer on high speed 5 to 7 minutes or until peaks form. Place in small resealable food-storage plastic bag; cut a very small hole in the bottom of the bag with the plain white icing. Squeeze icing onto glazed cookies. Before icing dries, sprinkle with decorations, and tap off excess. Dry thoroughly on cooling rack. Thread cookies with narrow ribbon for hanging.