Best Christmas Cutouts With Vanilla Icing Recipe Epicuriouscom Recipes

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CHRISTMAS CUTOUTS



Christmas Cutouts image

Making and decorating these tender sugar cookies left a lasting impression on our four children. Adults now, they've all asked for my Christmas cutouts recipe so they can bake them with their own children. -Shirley Kidd, New London, Minnesota

Provided by Taste of Home

Categories     Desserts

Time 35m

Yield about 3-1/2 dozen

Number Of Ingredients 14

1 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
FROSTING:
3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 4 tablespoons 2% milk
Optional: Liquid or paste food coloring and assorted sprinkles

Steps:

  • Cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Shape into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll, 2-3 hours., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-in. cookie cutters. Place on ungreased baking sheets., Bake until edges begin to brown, 7-8 minutes. Remove from pan to wire racks; cool completely. , For frosting, beat confectioners' sugar, butter, vanilla and enough milk to reach desired consistency; tint with food coloring if desired. Spread over cookies. Decorate as desired.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 134 calories, Fat 5g fat (3g saturated fat), Cholesterol 18mg cholesterol, Sodium 74mg sodium, Carbohydrate 21g carbohydrate (15g sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 1g protein.

CLASSIC CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIE CUTOUTS



Classic Christmas Sugar Cookie Cutouts image

If your Christmas season gets so hectic that you only have time to bake one batch of cookies, we suggest that this be the one you make. This is the kind of sugar cookie that generations of bakers have relied on, with a buttery texture and just-right tenderness. The accompanying glaze requires just three ingredients and is a standby that you can just as easily rely on when you need a glaze on other cookie varieties. It sets up nicely and is ideal for decorating, tinting well and spreading easily. The process of making sugar cookie cutouts is as essential to the holidays as opening gifts and singing Christmas songs, and if you can clear some time out on your schedule, it's a relaxing activity, too. Pull out all your favorite cookie cutters, whether they're classic hearts and stars or cute winter characters like reindeer and penguins, and bake up a batch-this recipe yields 60 cookies. When it's time to decorate, you have a blank canvas to indulge your style and creativity. Some bakers like to go all in on color and whimsy, while others prefer more simple and elegant finishing flourishes-it's all up to you. What we can promise is that no matter what shapes you cut them into or how you decorate them, you'll end up with cookies that are as delicious as they are beautiful.

Provided by Betty Crocker Kitchens

Categories     Dessert

Time 4h10m

Yield 60

Number Of Ingredients 12

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Betty Crocker™ Decor Selects candy sprinkles, nonpareils or colored sugars, if desired
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk or half-and-half

Steps:

  • In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, the butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, almond extract and egg until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
  • Heat oven to 375°F. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough 3/16 inch thick. Cut into assorted shapes with cookie cutters, or cut around patterns traced from storybook illustrations. If cookies are to be hung as decorations, make a hole in each 1/4 inch from top with end of plastic straw. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
  • Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
  • In medium bowl, beat all frosting ingredients until smooth and spreadable. Tint with food color if desired. Frost and decorate cookies as desired with frosting and colored sugars.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 65, Carbohydrate 9 g, Cholesterol 10 mg, Fat 1/2, Fiber 0 g, Protein 1 g, SaturatedFat 2 g, ServingSize 1 Cookie, Sodium 40 mg

HOLIDAY CUTOUTS



Holiday Cutouts image

Categories     Cookies     Bake     Christmas     Winter     Gourmet

Yield Makes 7 to 8 dozen cookies

Number Of Ingredients 6

Ingredients for basic butter cookies
Decorating icing (optional)
Food coloring in various colors (optional)
Garnish: edible glitter and nonpareils (see cooks' note, below)
Special Equipment
1 1/2- to 2-inch holiday cookie cutters*; several small heavy-duty sealable plastic bags (not pleated)

Steps:

  • Follow recipe for basic butter cookies, forming dough into 2 balls (instead of a log) and flattening each into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
  • While oven preheats, roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) into a 9-inch round (slightly less than 1/4 inch thick) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, chill on a baking sheet until firm.) Cut out as many cookies as possible from dough with cutters and transfer to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging cookies about 1 inch apart. If garnishing, sprinkle cookies with glitter or nonpareils.
  • Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes total, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely.
  • Gather scraps and chill until firm enough to reroll, 10 to 15 minutes. Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll only once) and bake on cooled sheets.
  • If coloring icing, transfer 1/4 cup icing to a small bowl for each color and tint with food coloring (if using plain white icing, spoon into 1 bag). Spoon each color icing into a bag, pressing out excess air, and snip an 1/8-inch opening in 1 corner of each bag. Twist each bag firmly just above icing, then decoratively pipe icing onto cookies. Let icing dry completely (about 1 hour, depending on humidity) before storing cookies.
  • *Available at New York Cake & Baking Distributor (800-942-2539).

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