CLASSIC SUGAR COOKIES
At the Toth house they started a tradition of Cookie Day at the start of December when the whole family gathers to help make and decorate cookies from morning to night. And this crowd favorite let’s everyone, toddlers to grandparents, have their chance at creating a masterpiece with their choice of decorations from sparkles to candy and everything in between.
Heidi Toth finds that when you’re baking for several hours and the oven is hot, along with the cookie sheets, the cookies will get done quicker. So keep your eyes on the edges for that golden brown color that let’s you know they’re perfect.
INGREDIENTS
1½ sticks (¾ cups) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
¾ cups superfine sugar (if you don’t have superfine, you can put regular sugar in a food processor)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2½ cups flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Sugars, sprinkles or royal icing, for decorating
DIRECTIONS
Beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy.
Add egg and then vanilla.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix until completely incorporated.
Divide the dough into two equal portions, wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (I just leave mine in the bowl and put the lid on it.)
Remove from refrigerator and let sit for a few minutes to soften.
Roll out in between parchment paper or wax paper to a thickness of ⅛ inch.
Use cookie cutters to cur out shapes and either decorate with sugars, sprinkles and decorations prior to baking or bake as is and use your favorite recipe for royal icing to ice cookies when cooled.
Bake at 350 degrees until golden around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes.
CLASSIC SPRITZ COOKIES
One of Peggy Apice’s favorite cookies is the spritz. On a scale of easy to difficult she says this is medium since you do need to get the hang of using a cookie press.
“It has a lot of butter in it so it’s more like a butter cookies. I like the spitz cookie, but they’re too easy to pop them in your mouth. There’s a lot of fat there.”
She says this is one cookie where measurement is really important.
“It all comes down to measuring the ingredients. If you scoop the flour out it clumps it together and it’s not as light and fluffy. If you spoon it into your cup and level it off you get a lighter consistency. And when you add the flour you want to add it on low speed otherwise it develops the glutton.”
Makes: 6 to 7 dozen
INGREDIENTS
1½ cups butter (3 sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3½ cups all-purpose flour
Colored sugar or sprinkles, optional
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed of mixer about 3 minutes or until creamy, scraping down sides, as necessary. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Add flour; mix on low speed, just until blended, scraping down sides, as necessary. (Dough will be soft; do not refrigerate.)
Fit cookie press with desired disk; fill with dough. Press dough onto cookie sheet, 1 inch apart. Decorate cookies with colored sugar or sprinkles.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
Cool cookies 2 minutes on cookie sheet; remove to cooling rack.
Variation: For chocolate spritz cookies. increase sugar to 1¼ cups. Decrease flour to 3 cups. Combine flour and ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder in medium mixing bowl; blend well. Proceed as recipe directs.