Creamy Christmas Butter Cookies Recipes

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST DELICIOUS CHRISTMAS BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter and sugar until blended. Increase speed to high, beat until light and creamy. At low speed, beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in flour, baking powder, and salt just until blended.
• Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Wrap each piece with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour.
• On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll 1 piece of dough 1/8 inch thick. With floured 2- to 3-inch assorted cookie cutters, cut dough into as many cookies as possible, wrap and refrigerate trimmings. Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on large ungreased cookie sheet, sprinkle cookies with colored sugar now if you like, or frost with Ornamental Frosting after baking.
• Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. If you like, brush colored sugar remaining on cookie sheets onto piece of waxed paper to use again. Repeat with remaining dough and trimmings.
• When cookies are cool, prepare Ornamental Frosting if you like, use to decorate cookies as desired. Sprinkle colored sugars as desired on frosting before it dries. Allow frosting to dry completely, about 1 hour. Store cookies in tightly covered container up to 2 weeks.

BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Using a cookie press fitted with a heart disk, press dough 1 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until set but not brown, 6-8 minutes. Cool on wire racks., For frosting, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to reach a spreading consistency. If desired, tint with food coloring. Decorate cookies as desired.

BEST BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Divide dough into four 1-1/2 cup portions; mix and shape for each variety as follows. Yield: 4 portions (1-1/2 cups each)., To prepare Cutouts: Using one portion dough, divide into two balls; roll each ball directly on an ungreased baking sheet to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured cookie cutter, leaving at least 1 in. between cookies. Remove excess dough and reroll scraps if desired. Decorate with sprinkles, jimmies or colored sugar if desired. Bake at 375° for 6-7 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen., To prepare Peppermint Balls: In a large bowl, combine one portion dough, peppermint candies and peppermint extract. Shape into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with red colored sugar if desired. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen., To prepare Spicy Fruit Balls: In a large bowl, combine one portion dough, currants, fruit and cinnamon. Shape into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute then roll in confectioners' sugar if desired. Cool on wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen., To prepare Chocolate Slices: In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. In a small bowl, mix melted chocolate into one portion cookie dough. Shape into a 1-1/2-in.-thick log; roll in nuts. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm. Unwrap and cut into 1/8-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks.

CHRISTMAS BUTTER COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. On low speed, beat in egg, lemon peel and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until well blended.
• Divide dough into 4 parts; flatten each part into 1/2-inch-thick round. Wrap each in waxed paper or plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Remove 1 round of dough at a time from refrigerator. Between sheets of floured waxed paper or plastic wrap, roll dough until 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick. Cut with 3-inch cookie cutters in various shapes. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts 1 inch apart.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or just until edges are golden. Cool on cookie sheets about 1 minute before removing to cooling rack. To make cookies for hanging, using a toothpick or end of plastic straw, carefully poke a hole in the top of each cookie while cookies are still hot. Cool 10 to 15 minutes before frosting.
• In medium bowl, stir together powdered sugar and meringue powder. Stir in 5 teaspoons lemon juice and enough of the 4 to 5 tablespoons water to make a thin icing. Transfer 1/2 cup of the icing into small bowl; set aside. Using a flexible pastry brush, paint cookies to the edges with icing. Place on cooling rack to dry completely, about 30 minutes.
• Beat reserved icing with electric mixer on high speed 5 to 7 minutes or until peaks form. Place in small resealable food-storage plastic bag; cut a very small hole in the bottom of the bag with the plain white icing. Squeeze icing onto glazed cookies. Before icing dries, sprinkle with decorations, and tap off excess. Dry thoroughly on cooling rack. Thread cookies with narrow ribbon for hanging.

AUNT EILEEN'S CHRISTMAS BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, using a hand beater. Beat in the egg and then the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just incorporated. Roll the dough into a log, on a work surface, wrap in parchment and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Put 2 cookie sheets in the refrigerator to chill as well.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and slice into 1/4-inch rounds. Arrange 2 inches apart on the chilled cookie sheets and bake until lightly golden on the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the cookie sheets and put on a cooling rack to cool before serving.

CREAMY CHRISTMAS BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 cookie sheets.
• In a large bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed, mix butter, sugar and vanilla just until blended.
• Add the egg and mix well.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix at low speed until well combined.
• Shape the dough into 3/4-inch balls. Arrange the balls 2-inches apart on the cookie sheets. Flatten each ball with a fork as you would a peanut butter cookie. Do this one time. To prevent the fork from sticking to the cookie dough;, dip it occasionally in confectioners' sugar. Sprinkle tops of the cookies with colored sanding sugar.
• Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly colored around the edges. Let cookies cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

CREAM CHEESE CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy.
• Combine the flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chopped pecans. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• On four sheets of aluminum foil, shape dough into four 6 inch rolls, 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each roll tightly in foil and refrigerate over night.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with foil. Remove rolls of dough from refrigerator one at a time. Coat each roll with red or green sugar crystals; cut dough into 1/4 inch slices.
• Place on prepared cookie sheets; top each cookie with a pecan half. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until bottom of cookie is lightly browned when lifted.

MOM'S CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix butter, brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon white sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix until well combined. Blend in flour gradually. Cover and chill in the refrigerator, 8 hours to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place remaining 2 tablespoon white sugar on a plate.
• Remove dough from the refrigerator. Shape into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Dip a glass into the sugar and press on each ball to flatten.
• Bake in the preheated oven, switching racks halfway through, until edges are golden, 7 to 9 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool, 8 to 10 minutes more.
• While the cookies are cooling, mix butter and powdered sugar until blended. Mix in milk and vanilla.
• Frost cooled cookies with frosting. Press sprinkles into the frosting while still soft.