The Mother Of All Butter Cookies With Endless Variations Food

THE MOTHER OF ALL BUTTER COOKIES (WITH ENDLESS VARIATIONS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt in a food processor, and pulse once or twice. Add butter, and pulse 10 or 20 times, until butter and flour are well combined. Add vanilla and egg and pulse 3 or 4 times. Add about half the milk and pulse 2 or 3 times. Add the remaining milk a little at a time, pulsing once or twice after each addition, until the dough holds together in a sticky mass.
• Remove the dough from the machine to one or more bowls. Make cookies as described in Step 3, or make any of the variations below.
• To make cookies, drop rounded teaspoons of dough (you can make the cookies larger or smaller, if you like) onto a nonstick baking sheet, a sheet lined with parchment paper or a lightly buttered sheet. If you want flat cookies, press the balls down a bit with your fingers or the back of a spatula or wooden spoon. Bake 11 minutes, or until the cookies are done as you like them. Cool on a rack, then store, if necessary, in a covered container.
• VARIATIONS on the flavor of these butter cookies are limitless. Here are a few suggestions:.
• Butterscotch cookies: Substitute brown sugar for half or more of the white sugar, or simply add 1 tablespoon of molasses along with the egg.
• Citrus cookies: Omit the vanilla, and add 1 tablespoon of lemon or orange juice and 2 teaspoons grated lemon or orange rind along with the egg. A couple of tablespoons of poppy seeds can also be added.
• Chocolate chip cookies: Stir in about 1 cup of chocolate chips. (The butterscotch variation is good with chocolate chips.).
• Other chunky cookies: To the finished batter, add about 1 cup of M& M's (or similar candy), roughly chopped walnuts, pecans or cashews, slivered almonds, raisins, coconut, dried cherries or cranberries. Or combine any chunky ingredients you like.
• Ginger cookies: Add 1 tablespoon ground dried ginger to the dry ingredients. For even better flavor, add 1/4 cup minced crystallized ginger to the batter by hand (this works well in addition to or in place of the ground ginger).
• Spice cookies: Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon each ground allspice and ground ginger and 1 pinch ground cloves and mace or nutmeg to the dry ingredients.
• Or you can make rolled cookies by freezing the dough for 15 minutes or refrigerating it for at least 1 hour. Working half the dough at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface; the dough will absorb some flour at first but will soon become less sticky. Do not add more flour than necessary. Roll about 1/4 inch thick, and cut with cookie cutters; decorate as you like. Bake as above, reducing the cooking time to 8 to 10 minutes.

THE MOTHER OF ALL BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt in a food processor, and pulse once or twice. Add butter, and pulse 10 or 20 times, until butter and flour are well combined. Add vanilla and egg and pulse 3 or 4 times. Add about half the milk and pulse 2 or 3 times. Add the remaining milk a little at a time, pulsing once or twice after each addition, until the dough holds together in a sticky mass.
• Remove the dough from the machine to one or more bowls. Make cookies as described in Step 3, or make any of the variations below.
• To make cookies, drop rounded teaspoons of dough (you can make the cookies larger or smaller, if you like) onto a nonstick baking sheet, a sheet lined with parchment paper or a lightly buttered sheet. If you want flat cookies, press the balls down a bit with your fingers or the back of a spatula or wooden spoon. Bake 11 minutes, or until the cookies are done as you like them. Cool on a rack, then store, if necessary, in a covered container.

DROP BUTTER COOKIES WITH VARIATIONS RECIPE - (4.3/5)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, and 1 egg, blend well. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt; blend well. Drop by rounded teaspoonsfuls, 1-inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375°F for 9 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Variations: Coconut: Add 1 1/2 cups flaked coconut with flour. Orange Pecan: Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 2 tables. grated orange zest with flour. Lemon Nut: Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts and 2 teas. grated lemon zest with flour. Chocolate Nut: Add 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa and 1/2 cup chopped nuts with flour.

VARIATIONS OF PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• combine crisco, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla.
• beat at medium speed until well blended.
• add egg.
• Mix well.
• combine flour, salt, and baking soda.
• add to creamed mix and mix well.
• roll into balls an slightly flatten with fork.
• bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes.

BUTTER COOKIES V

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the yolks one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Shape dough into logs about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate or freeze until firm.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Unwrap rolls. You can roll the logs in nuts or sprinkles before slicing. Slice into 3/8 inch wide slices. Place slices 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Do not brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

CLASSIC SUGAR COOKIES (WITH VARIATIONS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cream butter and sugar in a medium bowl, using medium speed (electric mixer) until light and fluffy.
• Add egg and vanilla.
• Continue beating until well-combined.
• Combine flour, salt and baking soda.
• Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.
• Mix on low speed until just combined.
• Wrap dough tightly with cling wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Turn dough out on lightly floured surface.
• Roll to about 1/8" thickness.
• Using cookie cutters/inverted wine glass, cut out cookies and transfer to prepared baking sheets.
• Sprinkle the tops with sugar, if desired.
• Bake until cookies are set but not brown, 8-10 minutes.
• Transfer to cooling racks.
• You may roll the dough into a log shape and freeze until firm, then slice and bake.
• LEMON SUGAR COOKIES- Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to butter and sugar.
• RAISIN SUGAR COOKIES- Stir 3/4 cup raisins into dough after dry ingredients have been combined.
• NUT SUGAR COOKIES- Stir 3/4 cup finely chopped (toasted) walnuts/pecans/other nuts into dough after dry ingredients have been combined.
• SUGAR AND SPICE COOKIES- Add 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and a pinch of ground cloves to the dough along with the flour.
• FROSTED SUGAR COOKIES- Omit the sprinkling of sugar on top of cookies.
• Beat 1 cup icing sugar, 1 tablespoon water/milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and a few drops of food coloring (if desired) with electric mixer, on HIGH speed.
• Frost cookies after baking, while still slightly warm.
• CHOCOLATE COOKIES- Melt 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I use 72%) in the microwave, stir until smooth, let cool slightly and add to the dough after the addition of vanilla.
• MARBLED/TWO-TONED COOKIES- Melt 1 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I use 72%) in the microwave, stir until smooth, let cool slightly. After the dough has been formed, divide it into two. Add melted chocolate into one part of dough, knead it gently to incorporate chocolate uniformly. Combine 2 doughs and roll out as usual.

FORGOTTEN COOKIES II

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
• In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites and salt until foamy. Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat until whites form stiff peaks. Fold in the vanilla and chocolate chips. Add peanuts if desired. Spoon onto the prepared cookie sheets.
• Place the cookies into the preheated oven, shut the door and turn off the oven immediately. Let cookies sit in the turned off oven for 5 to 6 hours or overnight.

EASIEST PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES (WITH VARIATIONS)

Steps:

• In a large bowl stir together peanut butter with sugar, egg and vanilla until well combined.
• Shape into 1-inch balls and place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets, then gently flatten with the tines of the fork.
• Bake 325 for 15 minutes or until golden brown; remove to wire racks to cool.
• FOR VARIATIONS; press 1 cup of either chocolate chips, toffee bits or chopped peanuts on top of the prepared cookie dough, then bake as directed.
• Or another variation for chocolate peanut butter cookies is; divide the peanut butter cookie dough in half; stir in half of the the melted baking squares into each half of the peanut butter cookie dough, then mix until combined, bake as directed.

MELT IN YOUR MOUTH BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter or margarine (and yes margarine does work beautifully! I can see some people raising their eyebrows!) with sugar.
• Add eggs and vanilla and mix.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix well.
• At this point you can either roll out and cut with cookie cutters or roll dough into 1 inch balls and flatten on cookie sheet.
• Bake at 375F for 6 to 8 minutes until set, NOT brown.
• Mix icing ingredients together and ice cookies once cooled.