Cut Out Butter Cookies Recipes

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.

CUT-OUT BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Divide dough in half; form into two 1/2-inch-thick disks. Wrap in plastic; chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a piece of floured waxed paper, roll one disk to a thickness of 3/16 inch; chill. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Flouring cutters as you go (to prevent sticking), cut dough into desired shapes; carefully transfer to baking sheets. Re-chill rolled-out dough if difficult to work with.
• If decorating, brush with egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar or sprinkles. Bake until edges are firm (not brown), 15 to 20 minutes for 3-inch cookies. Cool 1 to 2 minutes on baking sheets; cool completely on a wire rack.

PECAN CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place pecans and 1/2 cup sugar in a food processor; process until pecans are finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl., Stir flour and remaining sugar into pecan mixture; cut in butter until crumbly. Transfer mixture to a clean work surface; knead gently to form a smooth dough, about 2 minutes. (Mixture will be very crumbly at first, but will come together and form a dough as it's kneaded.) Divide dough in half., On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, mix vanilla sugar ingredients until blended., Dip warm cookies in vanilla sugar to coat; cool completely on wire racks. Store in airtight containers.

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.

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.

PEANUT BUTTER CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs, milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle., On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with 2-in. to 4-in. cookie cutters. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. , Bake at 375° for 7-9 minutes or until edges are browned. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Frost cookies and decorate as desired.

WORLD'S BEST BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla together until smooth and creamy.
• Mix in the egg yolk until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once.
• Add the flour and mix just until incorporated.
• Scrape onto a lightly floured board and knead a few times, just until the dough smooths out.
• Turn onto a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log, wrap up and refrigerate for several hours or freeze.
• Before baking, preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Line your baking sheets with parchment.
• Slice the dough into slices about 1/8" thick and place them on the sheets about an inch apart (they won't be spreading very much, but they need air room around each cookie).
• Bake until JUST beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 16-18 minutes.
• Note: you can do many things with these cookies.
• You could roll the dough out and cut shapes.
• You could slice them even thinner and sandwich them with chocolate or jam or lemon curd.
• You could make them and then dip them half into chocolate.
• You could just make them and eat them, which is my favorite.
• Whatever you do, they will be delicious.