Old Town Vanilla Buttercream Cookies Food

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 4 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, the heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for 2 full minutes. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. I always add 1/8 teaspoon.
• You can control the consistency at this point- add up to 1/2 cup more confectioners' sugar if frosting is too thin or more heavy cream if frosting is too thick (add only 1 Tablespoon at a time, beat together, then taste and add more if desired).
• Use immediately or cover tightly and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. After freezing, thaw in the refrigerator then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so it's creamy again. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a splash of heavy cream or milk will help thin the frosting out again, if needed.

SUGAR COOKIES WITH BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Arrange oven rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F (200°C). (If you can't fit two cookie sheets on one rack, arrange in upper and lower thirds and plan to rotate during baking.) Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment.
• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy with a hand mixer. Add in this order, mixing fully between each addition: the egg, vanilla, salt, and baking powder; beat until fluffy again. Add flour ½ cup at a time, beating to just incorporate each addition, and adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of cold water before last addition of flour to moisten dough. Dough should look like a bowl of pebbles after last addition of flour. Set mixer aside and knead dough in bowl until it just comes together, about 10 turns.
• Roll (or pat or smush) dough between parchment to a ¼-inch (6mm) thick 9 1/2-inch (24-cm) wide round. Pop into the freezer for 15 minutes until dough is hard. Remove top sheet of parchment and cut cookies as desired. Place cut dough on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Gather scraps and re-roll dough once (no need to freeze again).
• Bake cookies until edges are just puffed and center has a slight crust/skin but hasn't taken on any color around edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and slide parchment onto cooling racks; let cookies cool completely before frosting with a nice schmear. Let frosting firm before serving. Store in an airtight container; cookies are best the next day.
• Beat butter until smooth and fluffy, then gradually incorporate powdered sugar. Add milk and vanilla and beat until fluffy and lightened by a few shades and vanilla is evenly distributed.
• Cover and keep cool-but don't refrigerate-until ready to frost cookies, up to a few hours.

EASY SUGAR COOKIE FROSTING (VANILLA BUTTERCREAM)

Steps:

• With a standing mixer or hand mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes--it seems like a long time, but it's worth it!).
• Add in powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time (beginning with only 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar), beating well after each addition.
• Add in vanilla extract and 2 Tbsp of heavy whipping cream, beating well.
• If the frosting seems too thin, add in the remaining powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add in the remaining heavy whipping cream.
• If desired, add food coloring.
• Spread or pipe onto cookie!
• Enjoy!
• If making ahead of time, keep frosting in the fridge, and then let the frosting come to room temperature before spreading onto cookies.

SUGAR COOKIES WITH BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture until well blended using a sturdy spoon. Chill dough for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 4 to 6 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove cookies from pan and cool on wire racks.
• Using an electric mixer, beat shortening, confectioners sugar, water, salt, vanilla extract, and butter flavoring until fluffy. Frost cookies after they have cooled completely.

BUTTERCREAM COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix 3/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup cream cheese together at a medium speed with a whisk attachment or hand mixer until smooth.
• Next, mix in 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar at a medium-high speed for a couple minutes, until the mixture becomes lighter in color.
• Add in 1 egg, 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and 1 tsp almond extract. Mix on a low speed until incorporated.
• In a separate bowl, sift together 3 cups flour, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.
• Gradually mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture on a low speed, until it is JUST incorporated. I like to do this in a couple installments and scrape the sides of the bowl between additions.
• At this point the dough will still be pretty sticky. Divide the dough in half and wrap each piece of dough in a piece of plastic wrap.
• Chill in the fridge for about 2 hours or the freezer for 30 minutes.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F at this point in the process about 30 minutes before you plan to roll out the dough.
• Generously dust the surface you plan to roll the cookies out on with additional flour.
• Take one ball of dough out of the fridge or freezer, leaving the other to continue to chill.
• Sprinkle some more flour on top of your dough ball and on your rolling pin.
• Roll the chilled dough to be 1/3 inch thick and cut out your shapes with a flour dusted cookie cutter.
• Use a kitchen brush to gently brush off any excess flour and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet or silicone mat.
• Chill the cut-out cookies one more time in the fridge for 15 minutes or the freezer for 10 minutes to help them keep their shape better.
• Bake for 9-11 minutes on the top wrack of your oven (time varies based on the size and shape of the cookies). Keep a close eye on these and be sure to pull them out before the edges start to brown.
• Let the baked cookies cool on the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
• While the first batch bakes and cools, knead together the cookie dough scraps, and rewrap them in plastic wrap. Pop them back in the fridge to chill.
• Pull out your 2nd chilled ball of dough and repeat steps 9-15. Then repeat with the chilled dough scraps.
• Beat 1 cup of butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment, until smooth.
• Mix in 1 Tbsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp salt on a low speed
• Slowly add in 3 1/2 powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Halfway through add in 2 Tbsp of heavy cream or milk to make it easier to mix.
• Beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached.
• If the frosting seems too thick, add in additional cream (1 Tbsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (quarter of a cup at a time).
• If you plan to color the buttercream, add in the gel food coloring once the frosting is fully made and beat on low until it reaches the desired colored.
• Place frosting into a piping bag and decorate as desired! I didn't use a piping tip, and just cut about a 1 inch opening at the end of my bag to pipe some simple swirls on top of my cookies.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Cream the butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl if using a handheld electric mixer). On low speed, beat in the powdered sugar and then the salt. Add the vanilla, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 tablespoons milk; adjust the consistency with extra milk as desired. Use immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature and beat on medium-high until smooth.