Vanilla Butter Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar. Gradually beat into creamed mixture. Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-1/2-in. cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool on wire racks. , For frosting, beat confectioners' sugar, butter, vanilla and enough milk to reach desired consistency. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring. Cut a small hole in the tip of a pastry bag or in a corner of a food-safe plastic bag; transfer frosting to bag. Pipe decorations. Sprinkle with colored sugar. Freeze option: Freeze undecorated cookies, layered between waxed paper, in freezer containers. To use, thaw and decorate as desired.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Using a cookie press fitted with a heart disk, press dough 1 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until set but not brown, 6-8 minutes. Cool on wire racks., For frosting, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to reach a spreading consistency. If desired, tint with food coloring. Decorate cookies as desired.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add egg, vanilla, and almond extract, if using, and beat well.
• Mix in flour.
• Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat together Crisco, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, water, vanilla and butter-flavored extract until well mixed.
• Add the flour, baking soda and salt to the mixing bowl and mix well.
• Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
• Roll dough into 1 inch balls; slightly flatten and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Place in preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until light brown.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
• Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Beat until the dough just comes together, being careful not to over mix.
• Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Place the ball of dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper and roll out to 1/4-inch thick. Keeping the dough in the parchment, transfer to a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut out the cookies in the desired shapes and place on a half-sheet pan lined with parchment paper or an un-greased nonstick cookie sheet, at least 1-inch apart. Transfer to the freezer and chill for at least 15 minutes or until they are firm.
• Bake until the cookies are light golden brown, about 10 minutes.
• Let cookies cool completely on the sheets before decorating.

Steps:

• Put eight ounces of the butter in a heavy saucepan. Allow the remainder to soften at room temperature. Split the vanilla beans, scrape the seeds into the butter in the pan and then add the pods.
• Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook for about five minutes, until the foam subsides and the butter stops bubbling and gives off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer this mixture to a large, cool bowl and whisk for a few moments to prevent further cooking.
• Remove the pods and measure the still-warm butter. Add enough of the reserved butter to make the total equal one cup. Whisk to combine, cool to room temperature, cover tightly and chill until firm. Butter may be prepared several days in advance, if desired.
• Remove the butter from the refrigerator and let warm until malleable. Put it in a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment of an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy. Beat in the sugar, egg yolk and then, with as few strokes as possible, the flour. Add the nutmeats, if desired. Wrap and chill the dough.
• Divide the dough into quarters and work with one quarter at a time, keeping the others refrigerated. Lightly flour a work surface and on it flatten a piece of dough to a rectangle about one-half-inch thick. Fold it in half and compress it into a log roughly one-and-a-half inches thick. Press to be sure there are no air bubbles, trying not to overwork the dough. If it seems to be getting greasy, return it to the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and freeze. Repeat with the remaining quarters.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Slice the frozen dough into cookies a bit more than one-half-inch thick (thinner ones will crumble) and place them one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the surfaces look dull and the cookies are very lightly browned. Allow them to cool on the sheet for three minutes, then carefully transfer to racks.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the egg.
• Add in the vanilla.
• Add in the flour.
• Roll dough into 12 equal sized balls.
• Place balls on prepared sheets, leaving 3 inches between to allow for spreading.
• Press dough balls down lightly.
• Bake 12-15 minutes, until firm.
• Cool on rack.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Divide dough into four 1-1/2 cup portions; mix and shape for each variety as follows. Yield: 4 portions (1-1/2 cups each)., To prepare Cutouts: Using one portion dough, divide into two balls; roll each ball directly on an ungreased baking sheet to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured cookie cutter, leaving at least 1 in. between cookies. Remove excess dough and reroll scraps if desired. Decorate with sprinkles, jimmies or colored sugar if desired. Bake at 375° for 6-7 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen., To prepare Peppermint Balls: In a large bowl, combine one portion dough, peppermint candies and peppermint extract. Shape into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with red colored sugar if desired. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen., To prepare Spicy Fruit Balls: In a large bowl, combine one portion dough, currants, fruit and cinnamon. Shape into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute then roll in confectioners' sugar if desired. Cool on wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen., To prepare Chocolate Slices: In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. In a small bowl, mix melted chocolate into one portion cookie dough. Shape into a 1-1/2-in.-thick log; roll in nuts. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm. Unwrap and cut into 1/8-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks.

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine sugar and butter; beat until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Stir together dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture until completely blended. Chill for 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with holiday cutters dipped in flour. Using a floured spatula, transfer cookies to ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
• For frosting, combine sugar, butter, vanilla and milk; beat until creamy. Thin with additional milk to desired spreading consistency if necessary. Add a few drops of food coloring if desired. Spread frosting over cookies and decorate with colored sugar. Yield: 7 dozen (2-1/2-in. cookies).