February 13, 2012

Perfect cut-out sugar cookies



Over the weekend we made some Valentine's Day sugar cookies to share with friends.  I have been on the hunt for a good sugar cookie recipe for a while.  I want them to taste buttery, but with too much butter the cookies don't hold their shape properly, making the batter useless for cut-out cookies.

I've finally found a recipe that seems to work well, and I like that it has lemon zest, almond extract, and vanilla extract, which gives the cookies a really good flavor.  I also found a dynamite icing recipe that dries glossy and not too hard.  All in all, this is my most successful attempt at cut-out cookies yet.


The sugar cookie recipe is helpfully calculated for either a huge batch or a more manageable number (which I used).  I do recommend rolling the dough out in batches, keeping the excess in the fridge at all times, and then briefly chilling the cut-out dough on cookie sheets before baking to help the cookies retain their shape.  Parchment paper also makes it easier to lift off the entire sheet of cookies onto the counter in preparation for icing.  I just used a small spoon to spread the icing, but I'd like to try using a pastry bag for a slightly more precise application.  After icing, I let the cookies sit for a couple hours for the icing to harden, then stored in an airtight container with waxed paper between layers.


Hope you have a fun Valentine's Day!  Ours will likely be snowy and cold!

{RECIPES: Cut-out cookies, Icing}


{All photos mine}

2 comments:

Kara K said...

I am a sugar cookie monster. After you talked about them at lunch yesterday, I briefly contemplated making a batch. But then I remembered that making sugar cookies is like a 3 hour process for me. And I had already had thousands of container of babyfood I needed to make. So alas, I will have to just eat your cookies instead.

Nikki said...

your cookies look amazing! I hope we can try them this week...a bit late, but better than never.

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