Thursday, December 3, 2009

Rolled Sugar Cookies




Breathe. Are you ready for this? It’s time to prepare for Hanuxmasnyearkwanzavtines Day again. And no matter what you celebrate you need an irresistible rolled sugar cookie dough, and this is it!

At first this dough scared me. I thought it was too soft of a mess to ever work, but something magical happened upon refrigerating. It turned into the most wonderful to work with sugar cookie dough ever.


The best part about this dough is that you can roll it as thick or as thin as you want and it will bake beautifully, just keep and eye on them and adjust the time a bit. I enjoy these cookies plain and often choose not to frost them at all like this Scotty dog. My mother-in-law Diane gifted me with two antique Scotty dog cookie cutters a few years back and they’ve been my favorite ever since.



The Scotty dog’s leash is made with inexpensive craft cord. I cut the cords about nine inches long, tied a small loop around one end, and then tied the other end around the cookie to look like a collar. Then I trimmed off the extra ends, and melted them together with a lighter so they wouldn’t fray.


It was using this recipe I found that I could melt buttercream frosting in the microwave and it would turn into great cookie icing. If you have any lying around, try it out. Then of course there is always real cookie icing. Or none at all, as I enjoy biting the heads off my Scotty dogs just plain.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups butter, very softened and nearly melted
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
5 cups all-purpose flour
Powdered sugar for rolling
Wax paper
Parchment paper

Instructions
1. In a mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and salt. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat to combine. Add the baking powder and mix to incorporate. Then add the flour and mix just until the flour is mixed in. Be careful not to over mix the flour.

2.
The dough will be very sticky, but spoon into about evenly onto three sections of wax paper the best you can. Wrap the wax paper around the dough sections and pat them to about an inch thick. Store all three of them in a gallon sized bag in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

3. After chilling, take the dough out of the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

4. Dust a clean surface and the top of the dough with a good amount of powdered sugar. Roll to desired thickness, anywhere from 1/8 inch to almost ½ inch. Cut out with cutters, and reroll scraps. Try to cut close together to prevent too much rerolling.

5. Place cookies on the cookie sheets about an inch apart and bake for anywhere from 6 to 10 minutes depending on size and thickness. Cookies will be done with the edges just begin to turn golden.

6. Let the cookies rest on the sheets until they harden enough to transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

By Laura Flowers



30 comments:

Sara said...

Super cute! I love the dog shape! :)

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

It's so cute I want to die!!! JK--- but seriously... way too cute!

The Scottie dog is adorable on it's own, but add the black cord and itty-bitty eye and it's over the top!

LOVE IT!!!

:)
ButterYum

Federica Simoni said...

ciao Laura! complimenti! sei bravissima!

Lori R. said...

Oh yum...errr... oh how cute!
Almost too cute to eat! I am on the lookout for new cookie recipes this season,,, thanks!!!

Renata said...

Your dog looks really cute!! And this recipe is wonderful, I'll try it out this year.. And happy 'something' day 4 u! lol!!!

Cristie said...

Darling, so cute. I would love to get the icing recipe as well.

Ciao Chow Linda said...

Your doggies are adorable. I think I have the same antique cookie cutter.

Veronica M. said...

I love it when I see you on foodgawker! You're such a supah-stah! I'm sure your every post is on there, but I only visit the website every few weeks. I love those scotty dog cookies--you were so creative to add those leashes!

Sue said...

The scottie dog is just too cute! I want one:) I, too, love to eat the cookies plain, and that's how my husband loves them BEST!

Mary Bergfeld said...

How very dear! I really love this.

deana(lostpastremembered) said...

the leash is brilliant, it made me smile on a gray, East Coast day!

Pink Little Cake said...

I can't breath, I can't pronounce the word, but I am sure ready to eat the doggie!

Astrid (Mrs.B) said...

That is too cute! A box of these would make the perfect christmas present!

Sarah said...

LOVE the combonation of all the holidays, too cute!
The cookie is absolutley darling, may need to find a cutter like that!

softhef said...

can't wait to try these today with my kids! thanks for the great recipe.

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Ah yes, Hanuxmasnyearkwanzavtines day, my favorite holiday 8). Love your craftiness with that doggy cord and of course the cookie itself. Also looks like the recipe makes a lot (perfect to feed all those hungry mouths that seem to pop up this time of year!).

La Table De Nana said...

Oh my they are adorable..:)

The Cooking Photographer said...

Shar I hope you all enjoy these!

Hi Everyone! Thanks for the comments.

Laura

figtree said...

I can tell these taste as good as they look!Ill try them next weekend.

Mr. P said...

Everybody is making amazing cut-outs! They are fantasic Laura. And have you seen these: http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2009/12/science-cookies-atom.html

Amazing!

Still haven't got round to doing the fruit cupcakes yet. Doesn't feel like the season. But I have it book marked! :)

The Cooking Photographer said...

Mr P. those cookies are really neat. I didn't realize that blogger is nearly my neighbor.

Laura

2 Stews said...

I am not sure when it all started, but I have always wanted a Scottie dog (if I ever had a dog)...and now I want YOURS!! I find sugar cookies with all of their shapes so charming. I'm looking for that cutter now, a new version that is. Lucky you to have it!

Happy baking...Diane

Amber said...

Yippee! I'm so excited you posted a good sugar cookie recipe. I haven't found any that I really like yet. I'm definitely trying out this one. The boys love making sugar cookies with me.

Veronica M. said...

I made the dough three days ago b/c I meant to take them to a Christmas party but I ran out of time and didn't bake them. I had no reason to, but I baked 1/3 of the dough today just because I really wanted to try these cookies. They are fantastic--soft & perfect. I took your advice and warmed some homemade cream cheese frosting in the microwave and that made it really easy to spread. Anyway, I'm going to freeze the rest of the dough so I have it ready when I need it for the next party! :) THanks for giving me a recipe I can use for Hanuxmasnyearkwanzavtines Day! :)

The Cooking Photographer said...

I am so glad you liked them Veronica!

Unknown said...

LMAO @ your "holiday"...oh my god!!! and what? you didnt make the dog's leash from scratch? hahah!! very cute. and of course a great sugar cookie dough is always needed. now for the time! I'll make the time...no doubt. especially for a good sugar cookie!

shaz said...

That little doggie just about stole my heart! Love your holiday "variation", I think you got all the bases covered there :)

Chef E said...

Oh a Scotty! or is it a Westie, I love those terriers, and I have to say you have convinced me to make cookies today...my foe

Chef E said...

bought the supplies today, so I am rolling some out, well when I get up, lol, I will let you know how these go...

Nicole said...

I'm making these for my son's valentine's day party at school and they taste great and the cold dough is pretty easy to work with. I just put my last batch in the oven and I've learned a couple things along the way. The thinner I roll out the dough the better the shapes look when baked. Also, I've found it easier to put smaller amounts in between pieces of wax paper and roll it out to the desired thickness while it's sandwiched. After refrigerating, peel both sides of the wax paper off to release the the dough, but leave it on the wax paper and cut shapes while the dough is still on the paper. It releases easier than trying scape the shape off the counter and eliminates the need for powdered sugar and you can just reroll the softened dough put it back in the fridge to harden and grab a new slab of dough to work with.

Thanks for the great recipe!
Nicole

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