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 A favorite way to make, present and enjoy sugar cookies is shaped cookies. While shaped sugar cookies can be time and labor intensive, with the right recipe and tools, you will end up with delightful gourmet cookies to give as gifts, present at parties, or enjoy at home.
First, you need the right recipe. Not all sugar cookie recipes are alike. You want to make sure that your recipe calls for enough flour and butter to help the cookie retain shape during baking. Beware of any sugar cookie recipe that is a “drop” cookie recipe, because this dough is not easily rolled and cut, and is intended to spread during the baking process. The following is a perfect sugar cookie recipe for rolled and cut cookies:
6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix. Mix dry ingredients and add a cup at a time to the butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.
Chill dough for about an hour.
Your dough is chilled, and now it is time to roll and cut your cookies. A trick to rolling cookie dough without adding flour to the mixture is roll the dough between to sheets of parchment or waxed paper. To prevent your dough from becoming uneven while rolling, use spacers on your rolling pin. These handy little bands can be found at many gourmet kitchen stores and online. Once you have rolled the dough to your desired thickness, cut with your cookie cutters and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. You will bake your cookies in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 13 minutes, or just until beginning to brown at the edges. Always watch your first batch: most ovens heat differently and you may have to adjust your bake time accordingly.
Once your cookies are baked and cooled completely, it is time to decorate them. This is the fun part! You will need decorating bags, decorating tips, couplers and food coloring. First, you will want to decide what type of icing to use on your cookies. Royal icing is a favorite b/c it dries hard, allowing you to stack your cookies. You can also use buttercream to decorate your cookies, but it is more difficult to control and will not harden. Royal icing is your best bet, and is easiest made with meringue power. (which can be found at Michael’s or a hobby store) You will find a recipe for royal icing right on the box! Once you have made your icing, color it with food coloring and then start decorating. Just remember to not leave your royal icing uncovered…it will harden quickly.
Remember to be creative with your shaped cookies. Add sprinkles or candies to your wet royal icing to add a special touch. Buy a food coloring marker and personalize your cookies. The possibilities are endless. |
