Vanilla Frosting For Cutout Cookies Recipes

PERFECT CUT OUT COOKIE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• In a large bowl beat together your butter and powdered sugar.
• Toss in your vanilla and milk, beat until smooth and creamy.
• If your going to color your frosting, mix in your choice of coloring at this time.
• When it's the color your wanting, use a small metal off set spatula (or a butter knife) to smooth the frosting on, working from the center of the cookie, out towards the edges.

THE BEST CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE

Steps:

• Cream together butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer.
• Add vanilla and eggs and beat until combined.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt and beat until combined.
• Divide dough into two equal portions.
• Shape each piece of dough into a round, flat disc and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
• Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line two to four large baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
• Remove one sugar cookie dough disc from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes to soften slightly.
• Place sugar cookie dough on a floured surface and roll to ½" or ¼" thickness (thicker = softer cookies).
• Use your favorite cookie cutter shapes and cut out the dough and place them 1" apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
• Repeat until all the dough is used. You can gather and re-roll the dough scraps two additional times (3 times total).
• Use a pastry brush and brush the cookies with a little bit of milk or cream. Then decorate with sprinkles, which will stick to the milk/cream.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 9-10 minutes or until cookies are puffed and just set around the edges.
• Remove and let sit on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Repeat with second disc of dough.
• Combine all frosting ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
• Start with 2 TBS milk and increase until your desired consistency is achieved.
• If using food coloring, separate frosting into smaller bowls and add food coloring to your liking.
• Place each color in a disposable piping bag fitted with your tip of choice.
• Once cookies are completely cooled, decorate cookies.
• Let decorated cookies sit at room temperature for at least 3 hours, or until the frosting is completely hardened. Chilling them in the refrigerator helps speed up the setting process.
• Store in an airtight container or on a plate wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

THE BEST ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk.
• Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar. Frosts 13x9-inch cake generously, or fills and frosts an 8- or 9-inch two-layer cake.

HALLOWEEN PARTY CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and blended. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Shape dough into 2 portions. Shape each into a disk; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-1/2-in. Halloween-shaped cookie cutters. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a large bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, shortening and enough water to reach spreading consistency. Tint frosting and decorate as desired. Let stand until set.

FROSTED CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until crumbly. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk and vanilla; add to flour mixture and mix well. Divide dough into three balls; cover and refrigerate until easy to handle, about 2 hours., Preheat oven to 325°. Remove one portion of dough from the refrigerator at a time. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough., Bake until edges are lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Cool 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely. , For frosting, cream butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough cream to achieve spreading consistency. If desired, tint with food coloring. Frost cookies. Decorate with colored sugar and candies if desired.

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.

COOKIE ICING/FROSTING THAT HARDENS

Steps:

• VERY IMPORTANT; the confectioners sugar must be sifted before using.
• In a bowl beat the sifted confectioners sugar with milk until smooth.
• Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until smooth and glossy (if icing is too thick add in a small amount of corn syrup).
• Divide into as many separate bowls as desired.
• Add in different food coloring to each bowl beating/whisking until the intensity is achieved.
• Paint the icing over the cookies using a brush or dip the cookie edges into icing (this will set quite quickly).
• Place cookies on waxed paper to dry.

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.

VANILLA FROSTING

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter until light and smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES WITH MARBLED ICING

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
• Add egg and vanilla until just combined.
• Gradually add flour (reserving about 3 tablespooons) and salt.
• Cover dough and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Remove dough and roll on a floured surface to 1/4" thick. Using cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes.
• Transfer to baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until cookies have set. Allow to cool 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing.

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.

VANILLA FROSTING FOR CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• mix all ingredients together until smooth.
• color with food coloring 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.

SUGAR COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
• Reduce speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture until evenly distributed.
• Divide the dough into three equal sections and roll into a ball. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap, and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Bring one disk of dough out to sit out at room temperature until softened, about 10-15 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin until just under 1/4 inch thick. Add more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking.
• Cut out cookies with cookie cutters and transfer shapes to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Roll out scraps and repeat.
• Chill cut out cookies in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking. Transfer to the oven and bake for 13-18 minute, or until golden brown on the edges. Let cool completely on wire racks.
• Meanwhile make royal icing (recipe below) and frost the cookies with a metal spatula or piping bag and nozzle. Let icing harden completely, around 30 minutes.
• Using a paintbrush and a small cup of water, "paint" pieces of the silver foil or gold foil onto the cookies in a confetti pattern. Let dry.
• Store in an airtight container up to one week.