Makeover Cutout Sugar Cookies Recipes

SUGAR COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into a disk. Wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Let one disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Roll out dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4 inch thick. Remove top layer of plastic wrap. Cut out cookies with a 4-inch one-piece-shaped cookie cutter. To make an ornament, cut out a hole from the center of the neck about 1/4-inch from the edge using a straw. Transfer cookie dough on plastic wrap to a baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to freezer, freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet from freezer and transfer shapes to baking sheets lined with nonstick baking mats. Roll out scraps, and repeat. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.
• Bake, switching positions of sheets and rotating halfway through, until edges turn golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

SUGAR COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Sift together the flour and baking powder, stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the heavy cream. Cover dough, and chill for 2 to 3 hours, until firm.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired.
• Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until bottoms and edges of cookies are light brown. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

EASY CUT-OUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; set aside.
• Place sugar and butter into bowl of heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat at medium speed until well combined. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract; beat until well mixed. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed until just combined.
• While removing dough from bowl, knead to incorporate crumbs and form smooth dough. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness.
• Cut into shapes with 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until just beginning to brown around edges. Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely.
• For directions to achieve a marbled look, follow the steps in The Royal Icing Technique You Need to Know This Holiday Season.

CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and chill for 2-3 hours or until easy to handle. , On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 6-8 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. , For icing, cream the butter and shortening in a bowl. Add vanilla and salt. Gradually add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add milk; beat until light and fluffy. Tint icing with desired colors of food coloring; decorate the cookies.

DELUXE SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Chill for at least 1 hour or until easy to handle. , Divide dough into fourths. On a surface lightly sprinkled with confectioners' sugar, roll out 1 portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut into desired shapes using 2-in. cookie cutters. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake at 350° for 7-8 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

GRANDMA'S CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add first egg while continuing to beat, incorporating the egg fully before adding the second and beating fully into the mixture. Beat vanilla extract and almond extract into the mixture with the third egg.
• Stir flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl; add to the wet mixture and beat just until the wet and dry combine into a cookie dough. Shape dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll dough out onto a flour-dusted surface and cut with cookie cutters. Arrange cut cookies onto baking sheets.
• Bake cookies in preheated oven until beginning to brown around edges, 6 to 8 minutes.

MARBLED SUGAR COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• In large bowl, mix cookie mix, flour, melted butter and egg with spoon until soft dough forms. Divide dough into 3 pieces. Place 2 pieces of dough into 2 small bowls. Tint 1 bowl green, 1 bowl red by stirring in food colors.
• On floured surface, drop scant tablespoons of each dough in random pattern to make large rectangle. Dough pieces should be just touching together.
• Push dough toward center on all sides to make 6x5-inch rectangle. Roll dough 1/4 inch thick to create marbled pattern. Cut with 3-inch cookie cutters. Lightly press back of cookie spatula in flour, and slide under cookie dough; place cutouts 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Press any leftover scraps together, and reroll on floured surface to make more cookies.
• Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine sugar and butter in a mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Using the paddle attachment of the mixer, or a wooden spoon if you are doing this by hand, blend butter and sugar until no granules of sugar show. Lightly stir in salt, egg and vanilla.
• Stir in flour in thirds. Add just enough to make a dough that forms a mass and that is very soft but not sticky. It should be pale yellow in color.
• Gather dough in a ball, wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour, and preferably 3 or 4 hours or overnight.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. On a floured surface, roll chilled dough to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Dust rolling pin and dough with cake flour as needed. Using cookie cutters, make shapes and transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie. The bottoms should be just beginning to turn golden. If they're brown, you've cooked the batch too long.
• Transfer cookies to cooling rack. Let cool completely, then decorate with icing, sprinkles and dusting sugars.

SUGAR-COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Beat together butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture until combined. Shape dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm but still pliable, at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Transfer half of dough to a lightly floured piece of parchment; roll to just under 1/4-inch thick. Transfer dough on parchment to a baking sheet and freeze until firm, 30 minutes. Repeat with other half of dough.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Using a craft knife and the template (or a cookie cutter), cut out cookies and space 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Bake until golden on edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.