Holiday Shortbread Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.
• Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.

Steps:

• Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
• Cream butter and sugar in another large mixing bowl. Mix in eggs, then mix in vanilla. Gradually add in dry ingredients until incorporated. Remove dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll out to desired thickness on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle more flour on top of and under the dough, and on the rolling pin as needed to help prevent dough from sticking to the surface. Cut cookies with a round cookie cutter and place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake until cookies are firm to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool, about 30 minutes.
• Generously apply frosting to cooled cookies with a butter knife. Sprinkle crushed candy canes over top.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350.
• In medium bowl combine flour, corn starch and 2/3 Celsius of powdered sugar; set aside.
• In large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat 2 cups of butter until softened and smooth.
• Add flour mixture, 1 1/2 t.
• lemon peel and vanilla; beat until well blended.
• [Ifnecessary, refrigerate dough 1 hour or until easy to handle.
• ]Shape dough into 1 inch balls.
• Place 1 1/2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake about 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
• Remove from oven; cool completely on wire racks.
• Store in tightly covered container.
• Icing:.
• In a medium bowl beat together the remaining 1/3 Celsius butte and the remaining 1 t.
• lemon peel until butter is softened.
• Add remaining 4 Celsius powdered sugar and beat until well combined.
• Add lemon juice and beat well.
• Decorate cookies with icing.

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat softened butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and the vanilla with spoon until well mixed. Stir in flour until blended. Knead 5 to 10 times or until dough is smooth.
• Divide dough into 3 pieces. Place 2 pieces of dough into 2 small bowls. To one bowl, add green food color; stir or knead to mix color thoroughly into dough. Repeat with red food color and second piece of dough.
• Cut each of the 3 doughs in half. Take one half of each of the doughs, and press together into a ball. Gently knead to mix colors (don't overwork dough or it will lose marbling). Shape into a roll, 6 inches long by 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Spread 1 tablespoon sparkling sugar on plastic wrap; roll log to cover. Wrap dough log tightly with plastic wrap. Repeat forming, shaping and rolling with remaining dough pieces. Refrigerate about 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Unwrap 1 of the dough logs; cut into 1/2-inch slices. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet, reshaping if necessary.
• Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are set. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Unwrap remaining dough log, and repeat slicing and baking. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store covered in airtight container.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix with a fork.
• In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer for 3-5 minutes, until the butter and sugar are fully combined, but before the mixture becomes fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to incorporate.
• Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined, but crumbly. Finish mixing with your hands until the dough comes together in a ball.
• Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll out to about ¼-inch thick. Use cookie cutters of your choice to punch out cookies. Place the cookie cut-outs on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Let cool completely.
• To make the royal icing: In a medium bowl, add the meringue powder to the powdered sugar. Whisk to combine. Add the vanilla and 4-6 tablespoons of water (depending on how runny or thick you'd like your icing.) Whisk until completely combined.
• Divide the icing into smaller bowls and add any desired gel food colors. Immediately transfer to piping bags, or cover with plastic wrap. Do not leave the icing uncovered, as it will develop a film. If this happens, add a small amount of water and whisk to incorporate.
• Decorate the cookies with royal icing as desired and let dry completely, at least 3-4 hours or overnight.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt; process until smooth. Add flour and pulse just until combined. Form dough into an 8-inch-long round or square log; wrap tightly in plastic and freeze until firm, 30 minutes (or up to 1 month).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Dip edges in sugar if desired and transfer to two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on sheets. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.