Vanilla Butter Cut Outs Recipes

VANILLA BUTTER ROLLOUTS

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in vanilla and eggs, 1 at a time. Whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; cover. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll. , Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-1/2- to 3-in. cookie cutters. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, beat together butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to reach desired consistency. If desired, tint with food coloring. Spread or pipe onto cookies; decorate as desired.

BEST EVER VANILLA BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine 1 cup butter, sugar and egg in bowl. Beat at medium speed, until creamy. Add milk and 1 tablespoon vanilla. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Add flour and baking powder; beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.
• Divide dough in thirds. Shape each third into a ball on plastic food wrap. Wrap in plastic food wrap; flatten to 1/2 inch. Refrigerate 2-3 hours or until firm.
• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-third at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/8 to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 6-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool completely.
• Combine powdered sugar, water, 1 tablespoon butter, corn syrup and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in bowl; mix until powdered sugar is moistened. Beat at medium speed until smooth, adding additional water if necessary, to reach desired glazing consistency. Tint with food color, if desired.
• Glaze cooled cookies. Add decorator candies, if desired. Let stand 6 hours or overnight until glaze is hardened.

VANILLA BUTTER CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle., On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with lightly floured 2-1/2-in. cookie cutters. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. , Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

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.

BEST BUTTER COOKIES (CUTOUTS)

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Add in egg and beat well. Beat in orange juice and vanilla.
• Combine flour and baking powder and gradually beat inches.
• Chill dough for about 1 hour.
• After dough has chilled, preheat oven to 400.
• Roll dough on to lightly floured surface to about 1/8-1/4" thick. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Sprinkle w/ colored sugars, if desired.
• Bake at 400 for 6-9 minutes (depending on cookie size) or until edges just slightly golden.

BUTTER FROSTING FOR SOUR CREAM CUT-OUTS

Steps:

• Cream butter. Add remaining ingredients. Beat until frosting is smooth.
• Add food coloring in separate bowls or cups.

THICK CUT-OUTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each. Mix in vanilla extract. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Cover dough and chill for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
• To make frosting, mix together the confectioners' sugar, oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. gradually add enough hot water to achieve a spreadable consistency. Spread over warm cookies.

VANILLA BUTTER

Steps:

• Make the vanilla butter while the bread is rising. Cream the butter and sugar. Slowly beat in the vanilla.
• Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl, cover it and chill. Remove it from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving. The butter should be soft and spreadable.

CLASSIC GINGERBREAD CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the molasses and eggs. Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger; beat into the molasses mixture. Gradually stir in the remaining flour by hand to form a stiff dough.
• Divide dough into 2 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
• In a medium bowl, sift together confectioners' sugar and cream of tartar. Blend in egg whites. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat for about 5 minutes, or until mixture is thick and stiff. Keep covered with a moist cloth until ready to frost cookies.