Best Susans All Butter Cookies Easy Recipes

SUSAN BRANCH'S BUTTER COOKIES - THE BEST (REALLY)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• With an electric mixer (even the hand-held kind), cream together the butter and the sugar.
• Add egg yolks and vanilla and mix well.
• Sift flour and salt together, shaking back and forth in a fine sieve.
• Beat into the butter mixture until well-mixed.
• When ready to bake, use an ungreased cookie sheet and place the cookies 1 inch apart.
• Bake for about 10 minutes and DO NOT BROWN THEM.
• Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet while still warm and cool on sheets of waxed paper.
• Decorate if you like:.
• Shape dough into a roll the width of a cookie.
• Wrap in waved paper and chill.
• Before baking, roll in chocolate shots.
• Slice 1/2 inch thick and bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350° for 10 minutes. Do Not Brown.

BROWN-EYED SUSANS II

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• In a medium bowl, cream the butter, margarine and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just blended. Do not overmix.
• Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place cookies 2 inches apart into prepared cookie sheets. Make a slight indentation in the center. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies should be lightly browned. Cool slightly and frost the center of each cookie.
• To make the icing, combine the confectioners' sugar, cocoa and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir in the hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle the icing from the tip of a knife or spoon onto the center of each cookie. Allow the cookies time to set up before serving.

BROWN-EYED SUSAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat over to 400°F Grease cookies sheets.
• In a mixing bowl, cream butter. Add sugar, almond extract, and salt. Blend in flour.
• Shape a tablespoon of dough into a ball. Place on cookie sheet. Flatten with bottom of a glass that has been dipped in flour.
• Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookies look dry and are beginning to brown around the edges. Remove to rack. Cool.
• Prepare Frosting: In a small saucepan, melt butter with chocolate (or microwave). Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Cream butter and sugar.
• 2. Add in egg and almond extract. Beat to combine.
• 3. Add in your flour, salt, and baking powder.
• 4. Beat until thoroughly mixed.
• 5. Turn onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
• 6. Roll out to between 1/8-1/4". I use the silicone rolling pin guides; they look like thick rubber bands.
• 7. Use a floured cookie cutter of your choice.
• 8. Transfer shapes to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Leave 1-2" between cookies. They don't spread but they will cook more evenly this way.
• 9. Bake at 350 on parchment lined cookie sheets for 8-12 minutes, depending on how you like your cookies. I prefer mine somewhat crisp (they will soften a tad after being decorated), so I bake mine until they are not colored much on top but the bottoms are golden.
• 10. Allow to sit on cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Then remove to a cooling rack.
• 11. Next, make the decorator frosting. I don't like the taste of Royal Icing which is traditionally used for decorating cookies. I use this modified version of buttercream and it hardens well... and tastes delicious!
• 12. Beat butter, almond extract, salt and 1 tablespoon milk until combined.
• 13. Add all the powdered sugar.
• 14. Then begin adding more milk as needed, 1 teaspoon at a time until you get a good piping consistency. You can adjust as needed adding more powdered sugar or milk. I tinted mine lightly with Wiltons cornflower blue gel colors.
• 15. Using a 12" decorating bag and a #3 round decorating tip to pipe the lines on the snowflake. I piped straight from tip to tip first. Then place a dot in the center, at the intersection of the lines. Then begin making the side lines to each arm of your snowflake. After piping the snowflake, I gently turn it over in a small shallow bowl of white sparkling sugar, giving it a light "sparkle".
• 16. Allow to dry/harden on a sheet pan.
• 17. Pack in an airtight container, stacked with wax paper between layers. Cookies stay fresh for several days at room temperature.
• 18. You can bake the cookies ahead and freeze them undecorated in airtight containers. Then decorate when desired. No need to defrost, you can begin decorating frozen cookies. Just be sure to leave the container open as cookies come to room temperature, so they don't create condensation in the container.