Stacys Sweet Sugar Cookies Food

CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more Tablespoon of flour.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Dust 2 large pieces of parchment paper or 2 silicone baking mats with cocoa powder (or flour). Place a dough half on each. With a rolling pin lightly dusted with cocoa powder (or flour), roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more cocoa powder/flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.
• Lightly dust one of the rolled-out doughs with cocoa powder or flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours and up to 2 days.
• Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece from the refrigerator. Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough, using more cocoa powder or flour to lightly dust your work surface and rolling pin, and continue cutting the dough until all is used. Work quickly so the dough doesn't become too warm or soft. If it does, stop what you're doing and place any unused dough back in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to stiffen up again. Repeat cutting into shapes with 2nd half of dough. (Note: It doesn't seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
• Arrange shaped cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until edges are set. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
• Prepare the royal icing or easy glaze icing and decorate the cooled cookies however you'd like. Add sprinkles on top of the icing if desired.
• Royal icing dries in about 2 hours and easy glaze icing dries in 24 hours. No need to cover the decorated cookies as you wait for the icing to set. If it's helpful, transfer cookies to a baking sheet and place them in the refrigerator to help slightly speed up the icing setting.
• Enjoy cookies right away or wait until the icing sets to serve them. Once the icing has set, these cookies are great for gifting or for sending. Plain or decorated cookies stay soft for about 5 days when covered tightly at room temperature. For longer storage, cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days.

SUGAR BEET SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, sprinkles, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Cream together the butter, granulated and powdered sugars and lemon zest in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the egg and mix to combine, and then add the extracts and mix to combine.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until blended. At this point you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or up to 2 days, or you can get going on rolling out your dough and cutting out your cookies immediately.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats and set aside.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a little less than 1/2-inch-thick, dusting with more flour as needed to prevent it from sticking to the work surface or rolling pin. Cut out the cookies using a beet-shaped cookie cutter, then use an offset spatula to transfer to a lined baking sheet, 1 inch apart. Re-roll scraps and cut out more cookies. Bake until the cookies are just thinking about starting to turn brown, beginning checking larger cookies for doneness at 12 minutes and smaller cookies at 10 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the glaze: Mix together the powdered sugar, corn syrup (if using), vanilla, almond extract, salt and 4 tablespoons heavy cream in a medium bowl until smooth. It should be very thick but just thin enough that when you lift your spoon it falls off in smooth ribbons. If it's too thick, stir in more cream little by little, and if it's too thin, stir in a few more spoonfuls of powdered sugar until you get the right consistency. Fill a piping bag fitted with an 1/8-inch round tip with three-quarters of the glaze and decorate the white parts of the beets. Sprinkle with white sanding sugar. Mix the remaining glaze with a few drops of green food coloring, then transfer to a piping bag fitted with an 1/8-inch round tip and pipe on the leaves. Let set and enjoy!
• These will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for a good few days, but you can also freeze them once the glaze is dry and they'll stay fresher longer!