Cut Out Sugar Cookies

Like many families, growing up we always made cut out sugar cookies for Christmas. We had a big plastic barrel of assorted Christmas cookie cutters stashed away in the cabinet above the fridge. We eventually acquired cutters for other holidays as well, but Christmas is the time I think of them most. I especially loved decorating them will all different kinds of sprinkles. Maybe not as diverse as the selection these days, but I was blissfully happy with my selection as a child.

Fast forward to last week when a childhood friend of mine came to visit and we made cut out cookies together. Turns out she always thought we were nuts adding sprinkles to the cookies before baking them instead of baking them plain, adding frosting, and then topping with sprinkles. While I admit some sugar cookies are bland and require frosting to remedy them, I always remember our sugar cookies being sweet enough on their own, with the sprinkles on top being the only extra sugar on top. I’m also not a huge frosting fan In the first place unless is cream cheese or peanut butter frosting. But I digress. We ended up using her recipe for both the cookies and the frosting. Maybe one day I will share the one I grew up with!

We compromised and made half with pre-oven sprinkles and half with post-oven frosting and sprinkles. But some were left totally plain because I got my hands on a fun snowflake embossed rolling pin. While this rolling pin could be used for more than cookies (think pie dough, fondant on cakes, or even clay or other art mediums), cookies is obviously where my mind went first given the time of year. These 3D rolling pins come in several other patterns, are made from solid beech wood, food-safe, and are just plain fun to use. The only trick is making sure you roll your dough out a little thicker than you want the end result to be because as you press that into the dough it will get a little thinner too (also depends on the stiffness of your medium).

Five years ago: Buckeye Brownie Cookies

Six years ago: Stuffed Shells with Pumpkin Sage Cream Sauce

Seven years ago: Individual Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

Eight years ago: Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup (2011)

Nine years ago: Veggie Lasagna

CUT OUT SUGAR COOKIES

Makes 4 dozen (depending on cutter size)

Ingredients:

COOKIES

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

FROSTING

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter)

1/4 cup shortening

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 Tbsp heavy cream or milk

Sprinkles, for decorating

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until just combined. Slowly beat in flour, baking powder, and salt until it comes together into a dough.
2. Shape dough into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
3. When ready, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.
4. On a clean, floured surface, roll out one of the discs of dough to a little less than ¼-inch thick*. Cut with desired cookie cutter shapes and place on prepare cookie sheets 1 inch apart. Re-roll scraps and remaining dough to make more cut outs. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until set but not yet turning golden on the bottom edges. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. While the cookies cool, make the frosting. In a medium bowl beat the butter, shortening, and vanilla until creamy. Add powdered sugar ½-cup at a time. Thin to desired consistency with cream. Spread over cooled cookies and decorate with sprinkles, if desired.

*If using an embossed rolling pin, roll to a little more than ¼-inch thick with a traditional rolling pin, then firmly but evenly roll one more time with the embossed rolling pin.

Source: Heather, friend of The Spiffy Cookie.