Confectioners Sugar Cookies Recipes

POWDERED SUGAR COOKIES I

Steps:

• Beat sugars, margarine, vegetable oil and salt very well. Add eggs and dry ingredients.
• Make into balls, roll in sugar and place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 8 minutes. For holidays or special occasions, roll in colored sugar instead of white sugar.

CONFECTIONER'S SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.
• Beat until light. Add egg and vanilla.
• Beat until fluffy.
• Add dry ingredients. Stir just until mixed.
• Refrigerate. Roll, cut and bake for 6 minutes at 350° on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Cool, frost and decorate.
• Variations: Spread unbaked shapes with egg white and decorate with sprinkles-then bake. Add 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans here in Texas). Roll in 1" balls.
• Bake, cool and toss in a paper lunch sack with confectioner's sugar to coat. Roll dough in 1" balls.
• Bake, cool and toss in paper bag with sugar/cinnamon mixture to coat. Add 1 cup of candied fruits to dough.
• Roll in 1" balls. Bake and cool.
• Divide dough in half.
• Color dough and use dough as basis of pinwheel cookies or checkerboard cookies.

POWDERED-SUGAR PECAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Put the pecans in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Add the butter and pulse until combined. Mix in the sugar and vanilla. Add the flour and salt and pulse just to combine. Press the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate just until firm or make up to 2 days ahead, but let stand at room temperature until pliable but still cold.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using about 1 tablespoon of dough for each cookie, roll the dough into balls with your hands. Flatten with the palm of your hand to make mounds 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until browned on the bottom, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely. Sift the confectioners' sugar over the cookies.

POWDERED SUGAR COOKIES III

Steps:

• Mix together the shortening, egg, and confectioners' sugar. Stir in vanilla, cream of tartar, salt, baking soda and flour. Mix well.
• Roll dough into 1 inch in diameter balls. Place on cookie sheet. Press down with a glass bottom dipped in sugar. ( I have also used cookie stamps dipped into sugar.)
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 10 minutes or just until edges are turning golden. Let cool slightly before removing from the cookie sheet.

CLASSIC SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, the softened butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the almond extract and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon, until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Divide dough in half; shape dough into 2 disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Roll each disk on lightly floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with 2- to 2 1/2-inch cookie cutters into desired shapes. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts at least 2 inches apart.
• Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely.
• In medium bowl, beat 3 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla with spoon until smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too stiff to spread, add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Tint with food color. Spread frosting on cooled cookies. Decorate as desired with colored sugar or candy sprinkles. Let stand about 4 hours or until frosting is set. Store covered in airtight container at room temperature with waxed paper between layers.

CONFECTIONERS' SUGAR GLAZE

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, water and vanilla; stir until combined and smooth (mixture will be thick). Tint with food coloring if desired. With a butter knife or small metal spatula, lightly spread glaze on cooled cookies. Let dry for 1 hour.

BUTTERY SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, cream butter, 1-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar and salt until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and extracts. Gradually beat flour into creamed mixture., Using a cookie press fitted with a disk of your choice, press dough 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until set, 6-8 minutes (do not brown). Remove to wire racks to cool completely., If desired, dip in melted chocolate and let stand until set or, in a small bowl, mix remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar and enough water to reach desired consistency. Dip cookies in glaze; decorate as desired. Let stand until set.

CONFECTIONERS' SUGAR GLAZE

Steps:

• Mix confectioners' sugar and the water to achieve an easy-to-pour consistency, adding more water as necessary. Use immediately.

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.

GREEK COOKIES WITH CONFECTIONERS' SUGAR (KOURABIEDES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Whip butter until white.
• Slowly add sugar, vanilla, and brandy.
• Gradually add flour, 1 cup at a time.
• Shape cookies by rolling into balls (about the size of a meatball), then gently press your thumb into the top of the cookie and twist slightly.
• This will help flatten the cookie just a bit.
• Place cookies on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until the cookies are sand colored.
• Sift confectioner's sugar onto a large sheet of wax paper.
• Upon removing cookies from oven, carefully place on sugar and sift additional sugar to cover the tops and sides of cookies.

CLASSIC SUGAR COOKIES (COOKIE EXCHANGE QUANTITY)

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat 3 cups powdered sugar, the butter, vanilla, 1 teaspoon almond extract and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes with 3-inch cookie cutters. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
• Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In small bowl, beat all glaze ingredients except food colors on low speed until smooth. Divide among several small bowls. Stir desired food color, one drop at a time, into each until desired color. Decorate cookies with glaze and other decorations as desired.