Frosted Holiday Cut Outs Recipes

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.

FROSTED TWISTS

Steps:

• Make the dough: Warm the milk in a small saucepan until steaming. Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl. Add the milk, shortening, eggs, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the salt and 7 cups flour; mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding up to 1/2 cup more flour if the dough is too sticky. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Lightly oil 2 baking sheets. Combine the cinnamon and the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a small bowl. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-by-24-inch rectangle, with a long side facing you. Spread the butter over the right half of the rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges; sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.
• Fold the left half of the dough over the cinnamon sugar, like closing a book. Cut the folded dough crosswise into twelve 1-inch-wide strips. Take one strip and twist several times, stretching the dough a little; hold one end of the strip against a baking sheet and wind the strip around to form a coil, tucking the other end underneath. Repeat with the remaining strips, spacing the rolls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Lightly cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Uncover the rolls and bake until lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Make the glaze: Beat the confectioners' sugar, butter and salt in a bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until combined, about 3 minutes. Slowly beat in up to 1/4 cup boiling water until pourable. Drizzle over the warm rolls and top with sprinkles.

FROSTED SHORTBREAD HOLIDAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
• Cream butter and sugar in another large mixing bowl. Mix in eggs, then mix in vanilla. Gradually add in dry ingredients until incorporated. Remove dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll out to desired thickness on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle more flour on top of and under the dough, and on the rolling pin as needed to help prevent dough from sticking to the surface. Cut cookies with a round cookie cutter and place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake until cookies are firm to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool, about 30 minutes.
• Generously apply frosting to cooled cookies with a butter knife. Sprinkle crushed candy canes over top.

FROSTED HOLIDAY CUT-OUTS

Steps:

• COOKIES: COMBINE sugar and shortening in bowl of electric mixer; beat at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, corn syrup and vanilla; beat until well blended and fluffy.
• COMBINE 3 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl; gradually add to shortening mixture, beating at low speed until well blended.
• DIVIDE dough into 4 equal pieces; shape each into disk. Wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
• HEAT oven to 375ºF.
• SPRINKLE about 1 tablespoon flour on large sheet of waxed paper. Place disk of dough on floured paper; flatten slightly with hands. Turn dough over; cover with another large sheet of waxed paper. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove top sheet of waxed paper. Cut into desired shapes with floured cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
• BAKE 5 to 7 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet; transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
• FROSTING: COMBINE powdered sugar and milk in small bowl; stir until smooth. Add food coloring, if desired. Stir until blended. Spread on cookies; let stand until frosting is set. Decorate as desired with decorator frosting.

FROSTED HOLIDAY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in vanilla, then beat in egg.
• Add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Divide the dough in half, pat into flat rectangles, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.
• Divide each dough parcel in half, and roll out to 1/8-inch thickness between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough. Chill until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line four cookie sheets with parchment paper, sprinkling with a little flour if the dough seems sticky. Cut out shapes from the rolled and chilled dough and place on prepared sheets 1-inch apart. Bake until golden around the edges, 8 to 13 minutes. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, prepare the royal icing: in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Whisk until stiff and glossy.
• To tint the frosting, divide into small bowls. Cover the ones you aren't using with plastic wrap; the frosting dries out very quickly. Use a rubber spatula to stir in desired food coloring. Though not necessary, it makes life easier if you make two versions of each color - one that is thick to pipe the outline on the cookie, and one that is thinned out slightly with a little water to flood the outline. Transfer frosting to piping bags fitted with very small round tips (sizes 1 to 2 work best).
• Pipe frosting onto cooled cookies and let set, at least 2 hours. Or use a pastry of paint brush to decorate cookies with the frosting.