Sugar Cookie Cutouts
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The Martha Stewart Show, December Winter 2008
- Yield Makes eighteen to twenty 4-inch cookies
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Ingredients
- 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions
- 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.
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nanaclaire, the purpose of freezing is only to prevent cookies from losing their perfect shapes while baking
I didn't freeze them before baking them and they taste fine. What is the purpose of that I wonder??
This is my GO TO recipe for Christmas cookies for neighbors and friends! They are SO delicious and offer unlimited decorating possibilities! I even get my children involved!
I tried this sugar cookie recipe.I comes ouut dee-licious.
I really think chilling a day can improve them.That was my
experience.My husband likes to eat them off the cookie
sheet.I have to make some when he isn't around.Those
get frosted. Kathee
How much sugar goes into the Simply Sugar Cookies? I did not see sugar in the list of ingredients.
Linda Cabler
This is a wonderful cookie recipe for cutouts. I don't chill them and the cookies still hold their shape. I doubled the vanilla...but I love the flavor so much I usually double the vanilla in all recipes!
I used the plastic wrap and it saved my cookies! It is worth the work and is not very time consuming once you come up with your own routine.
4 cups of flour was way too much for me so I used 3 and they taste great. I also added 1/2 tbs of lemon zest and a splash of cinnamon for flavor.
My cookies turned out sooo hard. Followed everything exactly and didn't over bake. I agree they could use a little more flavor.
This batter created a great-tasting sugar cookie that retained its shape well... it was a little annoying to have to cut out on plastic wrap, transfer to freezer, and transfer to cookie sheet before baking, but it made for nice-looking (and yummy) final products.
These cookies held their shape. The process of rolling out the dough between plastic worked well. I placed the cutout cookies on parchment to make the process of moving them from the cookie sheet that was in the freezer to the sheet I baked them in easier. Cookies could use a bit more vanilla in my opinion, but overall, very good.
I just got a set of Christmas cookies cutters at IKEA, there is
a santa similar to the one in the picture, the set is called Kramsno.
Does anyone know if this holds it's shape after baking?
I found some cookie cutters like that at Michael's last year.
Any idea how long the dough may be kept frozen?
How long do they last if wrapped in a cello bag? Is it best to leave them out on the counter overnight before icing? Is it best to levae on the counter to dry overnight once iced before wrapping? Thanks
can these cookies be stored at room temperature for 4 weeks?
Does anyone know where I can get the cookie cutter? I have been looking since the show was on tv and I can't find them anywhere.
If you are looking for the cookie cutter set they are on ebay. They sold out at the store but i saw some on ebay.
These are the BEST sugar cookies I've ever made. I think the extra work pays off and Martha's Royal Icing is excellent too. I've received more compliments on these cookies then any others.
Thank you for your comments! Can you direct us to the alternate recipe you used? Thanks!
WAY, WAY too much work (the freezing is just too much), even for one of Martha's delicious cookies. She has a much simpler recipe on the web site, which I made tonight. I FORGOT the salt, *and* I doubled the recipe, and they were GREAT. Low sodium dieters take note :)))) They taste like spritz, but make a great rolled and cut cookie. I used the Wilton blue silicone mats on my regular dark cookie sheets, and it being new, it smelled a bit when cooking :(