Vanilla Butter Cut Outs Recipes

VANILLA BUTTER ROLLOUTS

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in vanilla and eggs, 1 at a time. Whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; cover. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll. , Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-1/2- to 3-in. cookie cutters. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets., Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, beat together butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to reach desired consistency. If desired, tint with food coloring. Spread or pipe onto cookies; decorate as desired.

VANILLA BUTTER CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle., On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with lightly floured 2-1/2-in. cookie cutters. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. , Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

CHRISTMAS CUTOUTS WITH VANILLA ICING

Steps:

• For cookies:
• Sift first 3 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar in large bowl to blend well. Add egg, sour cream, and vanilla; beat 1 minute. Beat in dry ingredients in 2 additions until just blended. Gather dough together; divide in half. Flatten each half into disk; wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Soften dough slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Sprinkle work surface and top of dough disks with additional sugar. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness (dough will be very soft). Using assorted 2- to 3-inch cookie cutters, cut out cookies. Transfer to prepared sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather scraps and roll out on sugared surface; cut out more cookies. Repeat until all dough is used. Chill all cookies on baking sheets at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until light golden at edges, about 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.
• For icing:
• Combine 4 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and vanilla in medium bowl. Stir until icing is well blended, smooth, and spreadable, adding more milk by teaspoonfuls if too thick or more sugar by tablespoonfuls if too thin. Using small icing spatula or table knife, spread thin layer of icing atop each cookie. If using colored sugar crystals, sprinkle over cookies before icing sets. If using food-safe colored markers, let icing dry about 30 minutes; decorate cookies as desired. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature.)
• *The Bon Appetit test-kitchen staff used food-safe colored markers, called FooDoodler pens, to decorate these cookies. The markers are available at Sur La Table stores or can be ordered from King Arthur Flour (800-827-6836) or bakerscatalogue.com.

THICK CUT-OUTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each. Mix in vanilla extract. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Cover dough and chill for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
• To make frosting, mix together the confectioners' sugar, oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. gradually add enough hot water to achieve a spreadable consistency. Spread over warm cookies.

FROSTED BUTTER CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg, sour cream and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and chill for 1 hour or until easy to handle. , On a work surface that has been sprinkled heavily with confectioners' sugar, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2-in. cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately remove to wire racks to cool. , For frosting, combine milk and pudding mix until smooth; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter. Beat in pudding mixture. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, vanilla and food coloring if desired; beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Frost cookies.

BUTTERY VELVET CUT-OUTS

Steps:

• To make cookies: Blend together butter and cream cheese; add sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. Gradually add flour and chill for 2 hours. Roll out on a floured surface to 1/4" thick. Use cookie cutters to cut. Place on greased baking sheets (I use parchment paper). Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
• To make frosting: Combine 1-1/2 C powdered sugar, butter, shortening, vanilla, and milk; beat until smooth. Add remaining sugar and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until creamy. If using different food colorings, divide frosting and add flood coloring to each bowl. Frost cookies.

BUTTERY WALNUT CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in walnuts. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle. , On a floured surface, roll out to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-in. cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 6-8 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and milk; stir until smooth. If desired, tint with food coloring. Spread and pipe glaze over cookies; place on waxed paper. Let stand until set.

CLASSIC GINGERBREAD CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the molasses and eggs. Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger; beat into the molasses mixture. Gradually stir in the remaining flour by hand to form a stiff dough.
• Divide dough into 2 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
• In a medium bowl, sift together confectioners' sugar and cream of tartar. Blend in egg whites. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat for about 5 minutes, or until mixture is thick and stiff. Keep covered with a moist cloth until ready to frost cookies.

VANILLA CUT-OUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
• Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix well. Add baking powder and salt and mix again.
• Add flour 1 cup at a time.
• IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE THESE COOKIES RIGHT AWAY, add 4 1/2 cups flour and go for it. No need to chill the dough. If you are not going to use the dough within 4-6 hours -- stop at 4 cups of flour.
• Bake at 375°F If you roll to 1/4" thick, bake for about 7 minutes. If you roll to 3/8" thick, bake for about 9-11 minutes.

BUTTER FROSTING FOR SOUR CREAM CUT-OUTS

Steps:

• Cream butter. Add remaining ingredients. Beat until frosting is smooth.
• Add food coloring in separate bowls or cups.

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.

OLD-FASHIONED CUT OUT FROSTED BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg, milk and vanilla.
• Now blend in the dry ingredients flour, baking powder and salt until dough is formed. If desired you can chill for an hour for easier handling. I've never done this and the dough always rolled out fine for me.
• Divide the dough in thirds. On a lightly floured board roll out the dough to about 1/8th inch thickness. Using cookie cutters cut into shapes and place on a cookie sheet.
• Bake in oven for about 5 to 8 minutes until lightly golden brown. Cool on a rack.
• SPECIAL NOTE: You can use vanilla extract but I think vanilla paste makes these cookies taste even more special using vanilla paste.
• I use vintage Christmas cookie cutters where i found on Ebay. I bought vintage cooper cookie cutters instead of the aluminum ones due to safety concerns regarding the use of aluminum. But you can use modern cookie cutters and you can make these anytime not just for Christmas.
• Please see my recipe for Creamy Vanilla Frosting where I will be giving some decorating suggestions. =).