All Occasion Cookies Recipes

GRANDMA'S ALL-OCCASION SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together and keep close by.
• Working in a mixer with the paddle attachment, if you have one, beat the butter at medium speed for a minute or so, until it is smooth. Still beating, add the sugar and continue to beat for about 2 minutes, until the butter is light and pale. Add the egg and the yolk and the vanilla and beat another minute or two. Reduce the mixer speed to low and steadily add the flour mixture, mixing only until it has been incorporated. In fact, because this dough is best when worked least, you might want to stop the mixer before all the flour is thoroughly blended into the dough and finish the job with a rubber spatula. When mixed, the dough will be soft, creamy and appealingly malleable.
• Turn the dough out onto a counter and divide it in half. If you want to make roll-out cookies, shape each half into a disk and wrap in plastic. If you want to make slice-and-bake cookies, shape each half into a chubby sausage (the diameter of the sausage is up to you - I usually like cookies that are about 2 inches or more across) and wrap in plastic. Whether you're going to roll or slice the dough, the packets must be chilled for at least 2 hours.
• Getting ready to bake the cookies: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Have two lined baking sheets at the ready. For these, I prefer to bake a single sheet at a time. You can fill both sheets and keep one sheet covered in the refrigerator while you bake the other.
• If you are making slice-and-bake cookies, use a ruler to mark off 1/4-inch intervals on each roll of dough. With a sharp thin-bladed knife, slice the dough into rounds and place the rounds on one of the baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of space between each cookie.
• If you are making roll-out cookies, work with one packet of dough at a time and roll the dough between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper to a thickness of 1/4 inch, lifting the plastic or paper and turning the dough over often so that it rolls evenly. Lift off the top sheet of plastic or paper and cut the cookies - I like a 2-inch round cookie cutter for these. Pull away the excess dough, saving the scraps for re-rolling, and carefully lift the rounds onto the baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of space between each cookie. (This is a soft dough and you might have trouble peeling away the excess or lifting the cut outs. If so, cover the dough, chill it for about 15 minutes and try again.) After you've rolled and cut the second packet of dough, you can form the scraps into a disk, chill, roll, cut and bake them.
• Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the sheet at the mid-point. The cookies should feel firm, but they should not color much if at all. Remove the pan from the oven and dust the cookies with sugar or cinnamon-sugar, if you'd like. Let them rest 1 minute before carefully lifting them onto a rack to cool to room temperature.

ALL-OCCASION COOKIES

Steps:

• Pre heat oven to 350°.
• Microwave 2 sticks of the butter on high for 1 minute or until melted.
• Using paring knife, slice remaining butter into 1/2 inch slices; add to melted butter, tossing to coat.
• Allow butter to stand 3-5 minutes or until softened.
• Blend cake mix and flour in bowl and whisk to break up any large lumps.
• Whisk butter until smooth and free of lumps, if necessary microwave for 10-20 seconds or until creamy and pourable.
• Do not melt completely.
• Pour butter, all at once, into dry ingredients.
• Mix until dry ingredients are incorporated and dough is smooth.
• If dough is to stiff to stir knead until smooth.
• Using a small cookie scoop or teaspoons drop cookie dough onto baking sheet 2" apart.
• Bake 15-17 or until very light golden brown.
• Cool three minutes and transfer to cooling rack.
• Variations: Chocolate: Substitute devils food cake mix for the white and bake as directed Peanut Butter: Substitute yellow cake mix for the white cake mix.
• Add flour as directed.
• Whisk 2/3 cup peanut butter into softened butter until smooth; add to dry ingredients as recipe directs.
• Mix ins: Mix in 1/2-1 cup fo any combination of the following ingredients to the dough--Miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips; whole, grated or chopped nuts; rasins; flaked coconut; dried cranberries; miniature candy-candy coated chocolate pieces; chopped candies; chocolate chunks; white chocolate chips or toffee bits.

ALL OCCASION COOKIES

Steps:

• COOKIES beat together shortening and sugar until fluffy. beat in eggs until combined. blend in cream and vanilla slowly. sift in dry ingredients, fold until smooth. if sticky, add more flour. drop and flatten onto baking sheet, bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes FROSTING melt butter and shortening in a double boiler. beat egg and then add hot mixture to egg until warm. return everything to double boiler. stir in powdered sugar and then add condensed milk until frosting is spreadable but firm. Cookies need a LOT of frosting.