Cutout Cookies

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Beach Cookies

Special guest, Katherine Idle of Sweet Things by Katherine taught us the basics of cookie decorating.  Here is the recipe she uses for her cookies.  Check out the Live Session Recording HERE.

Yield
2 dozen - 4" cookies
Yield amount
2 minutes
Yield units
dozen - 4" cookies
Ingredients
4 cups All Purpose Flour (480 grams - preferably sifted)
1 teaspoon Baking Powder (4 grams)
1⁄2 teaspoon Salt (2.9 grams)
8 ounces Unsalted Butter (227 grams (2 american sticks) - softened)
2 cups Granulated Sugar (396 grams)
2 Whole Eggs (large)
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract (9.9 ml)
2 grams abc (abc note)
Instructions
  1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Turn out dough, and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
  2. Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit (163 Celsius), with racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Let one disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to just under 1/4-inch thick, adding more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. Chill in refrigerator until firm, about 30 minutes. Cut out cookies using desired cutters or templates. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets as you work. Roll out scraps, and repeat once. Repeat with remaining disk of dough. Chill cookies in freezer until very firm, about 15 minutes.
  3. Bake cookies, switching positions of sheets and rotating halfway through, until edges turn golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheets or wire racks. Decorate with Royal Icing.