Iced Orange Cutouts Recipes

ICED ORANGE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Whisk flour, sugar and orange zest; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Knead gently until dough forms. Divide dough in half; shape each into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/4-in. scalloped or plain round cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until bottoms are light brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For icing, mix confectioners' sugar, orange juice and zest until smooth. Spread over cookies. Let stand at room temperature until set.

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.

ICED ORANGE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Whisk flour, sugar and orange zest; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Knead gently until dough forms. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/4-in. round cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until bottoms are light brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For icing, mix confectioners' sugar, orange juice and zest until smooth. Spread over cookies. Let stand at room temperature until set.

SPICED CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in the molasses and egg. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom; stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the orange juice. Then stir in the orange zest.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out cookies with cookie cutters, and place them on an unprepared cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, edges should be slightly browned. Cool cookies on wire racks.