Christmas Cutouts With Vanilla Icing Recipe Epicuriouscom

CHRISTMAS CUTOUTS WITH VANILLA ICING

Steps:

• For cookies:
• Sift first 3 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar in large bowl to blend well. Add egg, sour cream, and vanilla; beat 1 minute. Beat in dry ingredients in 2 additions until just blended. Gather dough together; divide in half. Flatten each half into disk; wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Soften dough slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Sprinkle work surface and top of dough disks with additional sugar. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness (dough will be very soft). Using assorted 2- to 3-inch cookie cutters, cut out cookies. Transfer to prepared sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather scraps and roll out on sugared surface; cut out more cookies. Repeat until all dough is used. Chill all cookies on baking sheets at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until light golden at edges, about 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.
• For icing:
• Combine 4 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and vanilla in medium bowl. Stir until icing is well blended, smooth, and spreadable, adding more milk by teaspoonfuls if too thick or more sugar by tablespoonfuls if too thin. Using small icing spatula or table knife, spread thin layer of icing atop each cookie. If using colored sugar crystals, sprinkle over cookies before icing sets. If using food-safe colored markers, let icing dry about 30 minutes; decorate cookies as desired. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature.)
• *The Bon Appetit test-kitchen staff used food-safe colored markers, called FooDoodler pens, to decorate these cookies. The markers are available at Sur La Table stores or can be ordered from King Arthur Flour (800-827-6836) or bakerscatalogue.com.

CHRISTMAS CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Shape into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll, 2-3 hours., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-in. cookie cutters. Place on ungreased baking sheets., Bake until edges begin to brown, 7-8 minutes. Remove from pan to wire racks; cool completely. , For frosting, beat confectioners' sugar, butter, vanilla and enough milk to reach desired consistency; tint with food coloring if desired. Spread over cookies. Decorate as desired.

HOLIDAY CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Follow recipe for basic butter cookies, forming dough into 2 balls (instead of a log) and flattening each into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• While oven preheats, roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) into a 9-inch round (slightly less than 1/4 inch thick) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, chill on a baking sheet until firm.) Cut out as many cookies as possible from dough with cutters and transfer to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging cookies about 1 inch apart. If garnishing, sprinkle cookies with glitter or nonpareils.
• Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes total, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely.
• Gather scraps and chill until firm enough to reroll, 10 to 15 minutes. Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll only once) and bake on cooled sheets.
• If coloring icing, transfer 1/4 cup icing to a small bowl for each color and tint with food coloring (if using plain white icing, spoon into 1 bag). Spoon each color icing into a bag, pressing out excess air, and snip an 1/8-inch opening in 1 corner of each bag. Twist each bag firmly just above icing, then decoratively pipe icing onto cookies. Let icing dry completely (about 1 hour, depending on humidity) before storing cookies.
• *Available at New York Cake & Baking Distributor (800-942-2539).

CUTOUT COOKIE DECORATOR ICING

Steps:

• Place sugar into mixing bowl.
• Combine milk, corn syrup and vanilla, and blend.
• Add liquid mixture to powdered sugar and mix thoroughly.
• Add softened butter and blend until thoroughly incorporated.
• Divide frosting into several cups, and add food coloring to each. If using liquid coloring, add a little more powdered sugar until it reaches good spreading consistency.
• Spread onto cookie with knife, or place in zip-loc sandwith bags with the corner nipped off 1/16" to pipe onto cookies.
• Decorate with sprinkles or colored sugars.
• Once cookies are decorated, place on flat surface to allow frosting to dry. Store cookies in covered container.
• NOTE: Differences in humidity may require more or less liquids to make a good consistency frosting. Sugar can be added or milk lessened to achieve the best consistency.

VANILLA ICING

Steps:

• Combine the coconut milk, rice- or soy-milk powder, agave nectar, and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor and blend for 1 minute. With the machine running, gradually pour in 1/2 cup of the coconut oil and process until thoroughly combined. Add 1/2 tablespoon of the lemon juice and process, followed by the remaining coconut oil and lemon juice. Process for 1 minute more. The icing can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

VANILLA FROSTING FOR CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• mix all ingredients together until smooth.
• color with food coloring if desired.

CHRISTMAS CUTOUTS WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE GLAZE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. , Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut into desired shapes with floured 2-in. cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough. , Bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool., In a microwave-safe bowl, melt white chocolate; stir until smooth. Tint with food coloring. Transfer to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag. Pipe designs on cookies.

SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour and salt in a small bowl.
• Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer or 6 minutes with a handheld. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
• Form dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Roll out 1 disk of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) into an 8 1/2-inch round (1/4 inch thick) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, rewrap in plastic and chill until firm.) Cut out as many cookies as possible from dough with cutters and transfer to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging cookies about 1 inch apart.
• Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, gather scraps and chill until dough is firm enough to reroll, 10 to 15 minutes. Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll scraps only once) and bake on cooled baking sheets.
• If using icing and coloring it, transfer 1/4 cup icing to a small bowl for each color and tint with food coloring. Spoon each color icing into a sealable bag, pressing out excess air, and snip a 1/8-inch opening in 1 bottom corner of bag. Twisting bag firmly just above icing, decoratively pipe icing onto cookies. Let icing dry completely (about 1 hour) before storing cookies.