Almond Cookie Cutouts Recipes

THE BEST VANILLA ALMOND SUGAR CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cream the sugar and butter. Mix in the egg and extracts.
• Combine the flour and baking powder, then add to sugar mixture and mix just until combined.
• Roll out onto a floured surface (I like to roll out my cookies nice and thick!), and cut into shapes.
• Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes.

BEST EVER ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine 1 cup butter, sugar and egg in large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed, until creamy. Add milk and 1 teaspoon almond extract. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour and baking powder; beat, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.
• Divide dough into thirds. Shape each third into a ball. Wrap each in plastic food wrap; flatten slightly. 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 onto 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 almond extract 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 until glaze is hardened (6 hours or overnight).

ALMOND COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add egg and extracts; mix well. Combine the flour, cornstarch, almonds, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture just until blended. Shape into two balls. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. , On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut out with lightly floured 2-1/2-in. cutters. Place on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with colored sugar and/or sprinkles if desired., Bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until set and bottoms are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

SUGAR COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Sift together the flour and baking powder, stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the heavy cream. Cover dough, and chill for 2 to 3 hours, until firm.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired.
• Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until bottoms and edges of cookies are light brown. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

SUGAR COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into a disk. Wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Let one disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Roll out dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4 inch thick. Remove top layer of plastic wrap. Cut out cookies with a 4-inch one-piece-shaped cookie cutter. To make an ornament, cut out a hole from the center of the neck about 1/4-inch from the edge using a straw. Transfer cookie dough on plastic wrap to a baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to freezer, freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet from freezer and transfer shapes to baking sheets lined with nonstick baking mats. Roll out scraps, and repeat. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.
• Bake, switching positions of sheets and rotating halfway through, until edges turn golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

ALMOND HOLIDAY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• For the Sugar Cookies, mix flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat granulated sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and almond extract; mix well. Gradually stir in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight until firm.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheets.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
• For the Icing, mix all ingredients except food colors. (Stir in additional milk as needed to thin icing or more confectioners' sugar to thicken, if needed.) Place small amount of icing into small shallow bowls, using one bowl for each color desired. Stir drops of food color into icing until desired shade is reached. To ice cookies, hold cookie by its edge and dip top of cookie into icing. (Or spoon the icing onto cookie using a teaspoon.) Place iced cookies on wire rack set over foil-covered baking sheet to dry. (The foil-covered baking sheet will catch drips.) To add decorative details to cookies, spoon tinted icing into resealable plastic bag. Snip off a tiny piece of the corner. Squeeze icing through hole in plastic bag to decorate cookies. If desired, colored sugar may be sprinkled onto freshly iced cookies.

BRIDGET'S CUT OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F.
• Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set this mixture aside.
• In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until combined and fluffy. Beat in the egg and extracts, mixing until combined.
• Add the flour mixture in three parts, mixing on low speed. Scrape down the sides and bottoms of the bowl as needed. After the last addition, the dough will look very thick and crumbly.
• Prepare a rolling surface and roll out a portion of the dough. Cut as many shapes from the dough as possible and place them on a prepared cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.
• Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes. Freezing the cookies will help keep them from spreading. Meanwhile, knead the scraps and remaining dough together and continue the rolling, cutting, and freezing process on a second cookie sheet.
• After freezing, immediately bake the cookies on the center rack of your oven for 9 to 12 minutes (for 3.5 to 4-inch cookies), or until they appear done in the center. The baked cookies won't change much in color.
• Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes. With a thin cookie spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

ALMOND SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Prepare, Roll, and Chill Cookie Dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the unbleached all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, and kosher salt until combined.
• Combine the granulated sugar and orange zest in a stand mixer bowl. Using the tips of your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until it resembles wet sand and is very fragrant.
• Add the butter to the bowl. Using the paddle attachment, mix the sugar mixture and butter together at low speed for 30 seconds or until creamy. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix over low speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure all ingredients are incorporated evenly. Over low speed, slowly add the dry flour mixture. Mix until the flour is just absorbed and the dough comes together. It will be soft and fairly sticky.
• Press the dough together, divide in half, and place each half between two large pieces of parchment or wax paper. Roll each piece of dough until is ¼-inch thick. Stack the rolled dough pieces on top of each other and place on baking sheet or flat surface. Transfer to the fridge and chill for a minimum of 1 hour or the dough is cold and very firm. Important Note: This dough requires chilling, so don't attempt to skip this step.
• Bake Cookies: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) with a rack in the center position. Line a standard baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Remove one half of the chilled cookie dough from the fridge, and cut into shapes using cookie cutters. Place the cut-out cookie dough on the lined baking sheet one inch apart from one another. Note: The dough sheets should be very firm during cutting - if it is at all soft or sticky, place back in the refrigerator for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. In addition, the cut out cookies should also be firm and cool when they go into the oven.
• Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, rotating the pan halfway, or until the edges of the cookies are just turning golden in color. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies should be completely cool before decorating.
• Repeat with the remaining half of rolled dough. Any leftover dough scraps can be pressed together, re-rolled, and used. I recommend rolling the scraps between new, clean pieces of parchment paper to ensure zero sticking.
• Prepare the Icing: Combine ingredients in a small bowl until completely smooth and slightly glossy. The icing should be thick.
• Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton #3 tip. Pipe and decorate the cookies, garnishing with decorating pearls or sparkling sugar as desired. To make for easy clean-up, I like to decorate the cookies on a cooling rack set within a baking sheet. This allows me to easily collect and use any excess decorative pearls or sprinkles.
• Allow the icing to set, uncovered, for several hours (or overnight) or until firm to touch before storing the cookies in an airtight container.

ALMOND BUTTER CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg yolks and extract. Combine flour, salt and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in ground almonds. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. , Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 3/8-in. thickness. Cut with cookie cutters; place on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with sugar if desired. Bake at 375° for 10-13 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Cool on wire racks. Frost if desired.

PERFECT VANILLA ALMOND CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350, with rack on lower middle position. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. It's important to measure flour accurately; use scoop/level method to ensure proper measurement. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix the sugar and butter on medium-high speed until mixture is light and fluffy, at least 2 minutes; use rubber spatula to scrape down sides as needed. Be sure to mix the full amount of time or longer. Add the egg and extracts and mix to fully incorporate.
• Switch to low speed. Gradually add the flour mixture gently mixing just until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Do not over-mix.
• Use hands to work cookie dough into a smooth ball for rolling; if flour was measured accurately, texture will be similar to soft play-dough. It should not be sticky nor crumbly, but soft and pliable.
• Roll dough out on a floured surface to about 1/4" thick and cut into shapes. Place cookie shapes on parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze entire cookie sheet for 10 minutes, which helps retain shape when baking. (If you live in a cold region, you may even be able to place it outside. Otherwise, you can place in freezer in smaller batches if needed.)
• Transfer sheet of semi-frozen cookies straight into the preheated oven (only bake 1 sheet at a time.) Bake larger/thicker shapes (3.5 to 4 inch diameter) for 9-11 minutes and smaller shapes 7-8 minutes. *It's important to watch your first batch closely so you know how much time to bake your particular sized/shaped cookies. If they're baked a bit long, they'll be more likely to lose their shape. Cookies should be removed from oven when they seem slightly under-baked. They will set upon cooling.
• Let cool a few minutes on baking sheet and transfer to a cooling rack. Let cookies cool completely before decorating.

SOFT CUT-OUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract (if using) and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be relatively soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more Tablespoon of flour.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.
• Lightly dust one of the rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours and up to 2 days.
• Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece from the refrigerator. If it's sticking to the bottom, run your hand under it to help remove it- see me do this in the video above. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. (Note: It doesn't seem like a lot of dough, but you get a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
• Arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
• Decorate the cooled cookies with royal icing or easy glaze icing. Feel free to tint either icing with gel food coloring. See post above for recommended decorating tools. No need to cover the decorated cookies as you wait for the icing to set. If it's helpful, decorate the cookies directly on a baking sheet so you can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help speed up the icing setting.
• Enjoy cookies right away or wait until the icing sets to serve them. Once the icing has set, these cookies are great for gifting or for sending. Plain or decorated cookies stay soft for about 5 days when covered tightly at room temperature. For longer storage, cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days.