Shortbread Cutouts Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour. Transfer dough to a clean work surface; knead gently to form a smooth dough, about 2 minutes. (Mixture will be very crumbly at first, but will come together and form a dough as it's kneaded.), Divide dough in half. Roll each portion between two sheets of waxed paper to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2- to 3-in. cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. If desired, sprinkle with colored sugar., Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Whisk the flour, ginger and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, brown sugar and molasses in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually beat in the flour mixture until incorporated.
• Roll out the dough until 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies with 3-inch cookie cutters; arrange 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Gather the scraps and reroll to cut out more cookies. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.
• Whisk the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth and thick. Transfer the icing to a small resealable bag. Snip a small corner and decorate the cookies. Let set 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Wisk together flour and salt. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar, and continue to beat until pale and fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides of bowl, about 2 minutes more. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed, scraping sides if necessary, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
• Turn out dough, forming into 2 disks; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out 1 disk to a 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out shapes using desired cookie cutter, and transfer to prepared baking sheets. Reroll scraps. Repeat with remaining disk. Indent cookies with desired stamps. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes. Bake until firm and golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour until well mixed. Divide dough in two balls; flatten each ball into a 1-in.-thick disc and wrap each in plastic wrap. Dough will be soft. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm., On a floured surface, roll out one portion of dough at a time to a 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 325° for 9-10 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom. Remove from the oven and immediately prick cookies randomly with a fork. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream 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 roll 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-inch heart-shaped cutter. Place the hearts on an ungreased sheet pan and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Note: The edges of the shortbread are ever so slightly sharper if you chill the cookies before baking them. I cut out the cookies days ahead and bake them the day I serve them.

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl; with a pastry cutter, chop in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir the rum extract and almond extract into the water in a small bowl. Mix into the dry ingredients, a little bit at a time, until the mixture holds together in a ball when you squeeze it.
• Place the dough onto a floured work surface, and sprinkle with flour; roll out into a sheet 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes with floured cookie cutters, and place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Bake the cookies just until the edges are lightly browned, 15 to 18 minutes. Allow to cool on sheets for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to finish cooling. Cool completely before decorating.
• For frosting, whisk the confectioners' sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth. If desired, divide frosting into small bowls, and tint each bowl a desired shade with food coloring. Frost fully cooled cookies, and sprinkle with edible glitter before the frosting sets.