Spiced Cutouts Recipes

SWEDISH SPICE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, corn syrup and molasses. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and cloves; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or until easy to handle. , On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 4-in. cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Top with almonds if desired or leave plain. , Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Frost plain cookies if desired.

GRANDMA'S CHRISTMAS SPICE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Combine the first five ingredients. Whisk together remaining ingredients; add to molasses mixture and mix well. Refrigerate, covered, 3 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut into desired shapes with floured 2-in. cookie cutters; place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake until set, 10-12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

SPICED NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Spread the nuts out on a large baking sheet. Bake until the nuts are lightly toasted, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Transfer the nuts to a serving bowl. Pour in the butter and toss to coat evenly. Serve warm or room temperature.

SPICED APPLE PIE WITH FLUTED ROUND CUTOUTS

Steps:

• On a lightly floured work surface, roll 1 disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim edges flush with rim. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Roll remaining disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a 1 3/4-inch fluted round cutter, cut out about 70 rounds, rerolling scraps if necessary. Place rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Peel and core apples. Thinly slice half the apples, and cut remaining apples into 1-inch pieces.
• Toss together apples, lemon zest and juice, sugars, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Place filling in piecrust, mounding it in the center. Dot with butter. To make egg wash, whisk together egg yolk and cream in a small bowl. Lightly brush edge of piecrust with egg wash. Arrange dough rounds over filling, working in a spiral from the outside in to the center, overlapping them slightly. Lightly brush top of each round with egg wash as you work to help them adhere to one another.
• Once the filling has been covered with rounds, lightly brush entire top of pie with egg wash. Sprinkle top with sanding sugar. Refrigerate pie for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with racks in middle and lower positions. Place a foil-lined baking sheet on lower rack to catch any juices. Place pie on middle rack, and bake until crust begins to turn golden brown, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, and bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 1 hour, 10 minutes more. Tent with foil if crust browns too quickly. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

PUMPKIN SPICE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in pumpkin pie mix and molasses. In another bowl, whisk next 6 ingredients; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap. Refrigerate several hours, until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake until edges are firm, 8-10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For icing, beat confectioners' sugar, butter and enough milk to reach spreading consistency. If desired, tint with food coloring. Decorate cookies as desired.