These cookies were actually pretty yummy. I wouldn't put sprinkles on them if I made them for me, but for the kids I thought a little color would be good. These roll out nicely and have a perfect texture for cutout cookies.
BUTTER COOKIES
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar (I sifted this)
- 18 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature (If you use unsalted better, increase the salt to 1 tsp.)
- 1 large egg yolk, (reserve the white for topping if desired (see "tip" below)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 3/4 cups flour
Instructions
- Combine the sugar, butter, egg yolk, salt, and vanilla, beating until smooth. Add the flour, mixing until smooth. The mixture will seem dry at first, but will suddenly come together. If it doesn't, dribble in a tablespoon of water.
- Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a flattened disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight. When you're ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator, and let it soften for about 30 minutes to an hour, until it feels soft enough to roll. It should still feel cold, but shouldn't feel rock-hard.
- Sprinkle your rolling surface with flour, and flour your rolling pin. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it 1/8" to 3/16" thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut shapes. Re-roll and cut the dough scraps. Place the cookies on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets. They can be close together; they'll barely spread.
- Bake the cookies in a preheated 350°F oven for 12 to 14 minutes, until they're set and barely browned around the edges.
- Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool. If you've used parchment, you can lift cookies and parchment off the pan, so you can continue to use the pan as the cookies cool.
- Repeat with the remaining piece of dough, rolling, cutting, and baking cookies. When cookies are completely cool, decorate as you wish.
Tip - To top cookies with sprinkles before baking (no icing necessary), reserve the egg white from the yolk you've used in the dough. Mix the white with 1 tablespoon water. Lightly paint the cookies with the egg white/water, sprinkle with colored sugar, and bake.
I don't actually like to bake; there is too much margin for error. Cookies in particular, I find tiresome. They take attention to timing and a need to 'stay tuned'. Once I get started and the first batch is out of the oven, I realized they're not THAT tough. And the smiles I get from these two kids is also worth it. I try to have some cookies in the freezer, in wait for little hands.
My favorite kid cookie story:
Kid: Linda, do you have any cookies?
Me: No honey, I just gave the last of them away.
Kid: I'll check (and he heads for the freezer, opens it, looks...). You're right, no cookies. But look! You have ice cream.