Lovebird Sugar Cookie Cutout Recipes

BASIC SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes, or place in a resealable plastic bag, and freeze up to 3 months (thaw in refrigerator overnight).
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove one dough disk; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of floured parchment, dusting dough with flour as needed. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Using a spatula, transfer to prepared baking sheets. (If dough gets soft, chill 10 minutes.) Reroll scraps; cut shapes. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 10 to 18 minutes (depending on size). Cool completely on wire racks. To ice cookies, spread with the back of a spoon. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes. Decorate as desired.
• For the icing, sift confectioners' sugar into a small bowl. Whisk in milk, water, or lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thin, whisk in more sugar; if too thick, add more liquid. Spread over cookies with back of a spoon. Add other decorations, if desired. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes.

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.

CINNAMON SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Divide dough in half; form into two 3/4-inch-thick disks. Wrap each in plastic; refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Roll out and freeze: Place one disk between two sheets of floured parchment paper; roll out to an 1/8-inch thickness, lightly dusting dough with flour as needed. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters; if dough gets soft, chill 10 minutes. (To bake right away, follow directions in step 3.) Using a metal spatula with a thin blade, transfer cut-out shapes to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Re-roll scraps; cut more shapes. Repeat with remaining disk. Place baking sheet in freezer; once frozen, transfer shapes to a resealable plastic bag. Freeze up to 1 month.
• Bake: Preheat oven to 325. Line baking sheets with parchment; bake, decorating if desired (see note, below), until edges are golden, 10 to 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through-this time range applies whether dough is frozen or not. Cool cookies 1 minute on sheets, and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.