Snowflake Stenciled Shortbread Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper.
• In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating well. In small bowl, mix flour and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended.
• On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with 2-inch snowflake-shaped cookie cutter. On cookie sheets, place cutouts 1 inch apart.
• Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes. Decorate with white icing; sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Store between sheets of waxed paper in tightly covered container at room temperature.

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:

• 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.
• To decorate: On desired paper, draw shape (use a cutter as a guide). Fold paper in half and cut out shape, leaving border intact.
• Lay either stencil on cookie. With a fine-mesh sieve, dust cookie with confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder.
• Carefully lift off stencil.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and egg yolk; beat until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and orange zest. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Fill a cookie press or pastry bag with dough, and form cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the cookies are golden brown on the peaks and on the bottoms. Remove from cookie sheets at once to cool on wire racks.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, cream the shortening with the sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Sift the flour and salt into the creamed mixture and stir in gradually. Chill dough for at least one hour.
• Roll the chilled dough out to 1/8 inch thick and cut into desired shapes. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 6 to 8 minutes. Allow cookies to cool before decorating.

Steps:

• Whisk flour, salt, and cardamom in a medium bowl. Put butter and granulated sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and gradually mix in flour mixture.
• Press the dough into a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet. Press parchment paper onto surface, and smooth top. Remove parchment; wrap sheet in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using snowflake-shape cutters, cut out cookies, and arrange by size on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.