BUTTER COOKIE CUT-OUTS

Submitted by: jej
Last Updated: 8/27/2009

This is a good recipe for Butter Cookie Cut-outs. It came out of a book of favorite recipes by Home Ec. teachers, and is one I've used for years. It makes family, friends, and others think I am a good cook! The recipe says to roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness; that is especially important if I want to make my favorite tiny sandwich cookies. Sometimes I vary the thickness, depending... I've gone as thick as nearly 1/4 inch for a single layer cookie. Enjoy.

"These are especially good made with butter, but if you must forego butter, try them with a good margarine, such as Fleischmann's Unsalted Margarine."

1 c. butter or margarine, softened
2/3 c. sugar
1 tbsp. pure vanilla
1 egg, slightly beaten
2-1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy; blend in vanilla. Add egg; beat for 1 minute. Stir in flour gradually. Do not overwork.

2. Cover, refrigerate for 2 hours, or until dough is firm and easy to handle. (Flatten in disks on plates, and seal in plastic. This helps to cool in a hurry, and to eliminate refrigerator odors.)

2-A. While the dough disks are cooling in the fridge, make up some "Flour/Confectioners' Sugar Mixture" with which to dip the cookie cutters, knife, and spatula(s) when cutting and moving the cookies to the cookie sheets. Use equal parts flour and confectioners' sugar (i.e., 1-2 cups each of the flour and confectioners' sugar. I notice a definite difference between using it or plain flour, especially when using the leftover scraps of dough. I like to keep this "Flour/Confectioners' Sugar Mixture" in a covered, plastic, rectangular box (ax. 6x9 inches) from one time to another.

3. Roll out small amounts between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic to 1/8-inch thickness. When almost finished rolling, sprinkle a tiny bit of the "Flour-Confectioners' Sugar Mixture" on dough, replace paper, and flip the dough in the waxed paper or plastic; then sprinkle a little more on the other side. This uses the least extra flour -- and the cookies are richer, more tender, and more buttery than simply rolling on a floured board.

3-A. I just made this again, and after rolling out dough, placed it (still inside the 'rolling out papers') on a cookie sheet and back into the fridge for a few minutes. That way it is very firm for cutting and transferring the cookies to the baking sheet. Worked beautifully. (comment added 04/17/04)

4. Dip cutters into the mixture of equal parts flour and confectioners' sugar; place cut cookies on ungreased cookie sheets -- may use parchment if desired. Be sure sheets are COOLED and scraped free of crumbs for subsequent batches.

5. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven until done (6-15 minutes), or until cookies are completely done and edges are brown. (I like to do mine ONLY until the BOTTOMS of cookies are golden brown.)

6. Frost with confectioners' sugar, water, vanilla, and food color. (Various frostings work well for me: The sugar and vanilla with heavy cream works well, and also Royal frosting. If I'm out of the cream, milk is also ok.)

Yield: 3-6 dozen, depending on size of cutters.