Marthas Easter Sugar Cookies Recipes

MARTHA'S BROWN-SUGAR EASTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, beat butter with sugars on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually beat in flour mixture. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Let dough stand at room temperature until pliable. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to just under 1/4 inch thick, dusting with flour as needed. Cut out shapes with cutters; transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Reroll scraps and repeat. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Bake until golden, rotating sheets once, about 18 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
• For cookies with white and colored dots: Use a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip (such as #3) to make icing dots (about half as many dots as you want on finished cookies). Sprinkle with sanding sugar and let set, then shake off excess sugar. Pipe additional dots on cookies; let dry.
• To coat cookie surface with icing: Place icing in a shallow dish and carefully dip cookie into icing, leaving a thin border. Transfer to a wire rack and sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired. Let set and shake off excess sugar. If desired, pipe additional dots on cookies (or pipe a dot for a rabbit's eye). Let dry overnight. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment up to 1 week.

BASIC SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes, or place in a resealable plastic bag, and freeze up to 3 months (thaw in refrigerator overnight).
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove one dough disk; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of floured parchment, dusting dough with flour as needed. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Using a spatula, transfer to prepared baking sheets. (If dough gets soft, chill 10 minutes.) Reroll scraps; cut shapes. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 10 to 18 minutes (depending on size). Cool completely on wire racks. To ice cookies, spread with the back of a spoon. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes. Decorate as desired.
• For the icing, sift confectioners' sugar into a small bowl. Whisk in milk, water, or lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thin, whisk in more sugar; if too thick, add more liquid. Spread over cookies with back of a spoon. Add other decorations, if desired. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes.

MARTHA'S EASTER SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Cookies: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and cognac until well combined. Add flour mixture; beat on low until just combined. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough evenly and shape into 2 disks; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 45 minutes and up to 5 days.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/4 inch thick. Refrigerate until very firm, about 30 minutes, or freeze 10 minutes. Stamp out shapes. Transfer cutouts to prepared sheets, about 1 inch apart. Reroll scraps; stamp out more shapes and transfer to sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes, or freeze 10 minutes. Bake until set and golden around edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks; let cool completely.
• Royal Icing: In a bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, egg whites, and 2 teaspoons lemon juice until smooth. If necessary, add more lemon juice or confectioners' sugar to reach desired consistency. Divide and tint with gel-paste colors as desired. Pour some into squeeze bottles for detailing.

OLD-FASHIONED LEMON SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside.
• Put sugars and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed 30 seconds. Add butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon juice. Reduce speed; gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
• Scoop dough using a 2-inch ice cream scoop; space cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten cookies slightly with a spatula. Sprinkle tops with sanding sugar, then lightly brush with a wet pastry brush; sprinkle with more sanding sugar.
• Bake cookies until golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks using a spatula; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

DUTCH SUGAR COOKIES (ARNHEMSE MEISJES)

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment; sprinkle evenly with sugar to cover. Set aside.
• In a liquid-measuring cup, combine milk and yeast. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, salt, and vanilla. Beat in milk mixture on medium-high speed until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. With mixer running, add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure it is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Once all butter has been added, increase speed to high and beat 5 minutes. Turn out dough, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously sprinkle sugar on work surface. Place dough on sugared surface; sprinkle with sugar to cover. Top with a piece of parchment, then roll out dough 1/4 inch thick. Using a 3-inch oval cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, spaced 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake until deeply golden all over, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

EASTER SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar. Beat in egg yolk and extracts. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until easy to handle., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2-in. cookie cutter dipped in flour. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until edges begin to brown, 8-10 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Decorate as desired.

MARTHA STEWART'S SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, sift flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap, and roll with rolling pin so plastic is tight and dough is even. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Have ready several baking sheets lined with parchment. Remove dough from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature to temper slightly. (This prevents the dough from cracking.) Place parchment on a clean surface; dust generously with flour.
• Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness, stopping often to release the dough by running an offset spatulat under it. Dust with flour as necessary to prevent dough from sticking. Transfer parchment and dough to freezer until very firm, about 15 minutes.
• Remove dough from freezer; working quickly, cut into desired shapes. If your dough begins to soften, return to freezer for a few minutes. Using a wide spatula, transfer to baking sheets; freeze or refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until edges just begin to brown, rotating halfway through. Cool on wire racks; decorate.