Paula Deens Iced Christmas Sugar Cookies Recipes

DECORATED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and extracts with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating until combined. Shape dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to ¼-inch thickness. Using assorted holiday cookie cutters, cut dough, gently rerolling scraps to use all dough. Place dough on prepared pans.
• Bake until edges are lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on pans for 3 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
• Pipe a thin border of white Meringue Powder Icing around edges of cookies. Let dry completely. Decorate cookies as desired with remaining white and colored icing and sprinkles. Let dry completely. Store in airtight containers for up to 1 week.
• In a medium bowl, beat ¼ cup cold water and meringue powder with a mixer at medium speed until frothy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth.
• Place a small amount of icing in a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip. Divide remaining icing among small bowls, and tint as desired with food coloring. Stir in additional water ½ teaspoon at a time as needed to create a spreadable consistency.

PAULA DEEN'S ICED CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• To make the cookies - in a large bowl, beat butter and next 3 ingredients at medium speed with a mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each additon.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until combined. Cover dough with plastic and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• On lightly flour surface roll dough to 1/4" thickness. Cut dough with desired cutters. Reroll dough scraps and cut out cookies until all dough has been used.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let cool on pans for 2 miutes and then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
• To make Royal Icing - In a small bowl, whisk water and meringue powder until foamy. Gradually add confectioners sugar, whisking until smooth. Divide into small bowls and tint with food coloring pastes, stirring to achieve desired colors.
• Decorate cookes as desired with Royal Icing, dragees and sugar sprinkles.
• Store in airtight containers for up to 1 week.

MONOGRAMMED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream together 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar and butter, then mix in the egg and vanilla and almond extracts. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and 1 teaspoon cream of tartar; mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, then cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
• Divide the chilled dough in half and roll it out on a lightly floured pastry cloth to a 1/4-inch thickness. Lightly grease some baking sheets. Cut the dough with a floured cookie cutter; sprinkle with sugar. Transfer the cookies to the prepared sheets and bake for 9 minutes.
• Royal Icing:
• In a medium bowl, combine egg whites, 1 box confectioner's sugar, and cream of tartar. Beat at low speed with an electric mixer until blended. Increase mixer speed to high, and beat 8 to 10 minutes, or until mixture holds a peak. Cover with a damp cloth when not in use. Separate into bowls and add food coloring, if desired.

JENNIFER'S ICED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and mix until combined. Gradually add the sifted dry ingredients, one spoonful at a time, until thoroughly combined. Add the vanilla. Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out half of the dough at a time, keeping the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness and cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter. (For medium cookies, use a 3-inch cookie cutter.) Place the cutout cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and put the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for a few minutes before baking. This will help the cookies to retain their shape. (You can roll out the scraps to make a few more cookies.) Bake until just before the edges of the cookies start to brown, 8 to 10 minutes (if baking two sheets at a time, rotate halfway through baking). Cool the cookies for 1 to 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
• For the icing: In a medium bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and warm water with a wire whisk. Stir until the icing is smooth. Adjust the consistency of the icing by adding more confectioners' sugar or more water, as needed. Add food coloring, if desired, to the icing.
• Spread the icing on the cooled cookies and then top with assorted sprinkles and candies.

VANILLA SUGAR COOKIE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
• Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Beat until the dough just comes together, being careful not to over mix.
• Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Place the ball of dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out to 1/4 inch think. Keeping the dough in the parchment, transfer to a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
• Cut out the cookies in the desired shapes and places on a half-sheet pan lined with parchment paper or an ungreased nonstick cookie sheet, at least 1 inch apart. Transfer to the freezer and chill for at least 15 minutes or until they are stiff.
• Bake until the cookies are light golden brown, about 10 minutes.
• Let cookies cool completely on the sheets before decorating. (They will still be soft when they come out of the oven and may break or become misshapen if they are moved off the sheets before cool.) Makes about 12 3-inch cookies.

ICED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture in 2 batches and beat until just incorporated. Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, lightly dust the dough with flour and roll out between 2 pieces of parchment paper until about 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate until slightly firm, about 15 minutes. Cut out shapes using 2-to-4-inch cookie cutters and transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm; reroll once to cut out more cookies. Refrigerate the cutouts until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Bake the cookies, switching the position of the pans halfway through, until just golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the icing: Sift the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder into a large bowl. Beat in 6 tablespoons water with a mixer on medium speed until soft, glossy peaks form. Spread on the cookies and decorate with nonpareils. Let set, about 1 hour.