Molding Dough For Cutout Cookies

Winter Wonder - Iceland

Our Icy tundra continues and honestly it is beautiful and looks like something out of  a Dr. Zhivago movie but the damage is beginning as the heavy ice lingers on the branches and  power lines.  I am blessed and have not lost power.....YET!!

This the house across the street from me.  Their beautiful oak has split in half from the weight of the leaves and ice.  I am so sad for them.

I am hoping the temps will rise just enough to melt the ice.  I love winter and snow...but not ice.  It is so destructive.  I have several limbs down but nothing really of any damage.

Thank you Lord for that blessing!!

Decorated Christmas Cookies

Kristy spent the afternoon with me decorating sugar cookies yesterday.  I did the baking and she was the creative genius behind these beautiful works of art. We used an older recipe that was given to me over 30 years ago from a dear friend who has gone on to her heavenly home.  I haven't used this recipe in several years but after yesterday Kris and I both decided we would use it again next year for our cutout cookies.  The different is that it has cream cheese in it and no eggs which makes a very sturdy cookie that is easy to cut out and decorate. 

Molding Dough for Cutout Cookies

Ingredients:

3 oz pkg of cream cheese (softened)

1/2 cup butter (softened)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 2/3 cup all purpose flour

Directions:

1.  Combine cream cheese, butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla.  Stir until well blended.

2.  Add flour and stir by hand till it forms a ball.

3.  Knead in bowl 1-2 minutes.

4.  Roll dough  to 1/3 to 1/2 inches depth on a floured surface.

5.  Cut cookies with floured cookie cutters into desired shapes and lay on ungreased cookie sheets to bake.

These cookie cutters belonged to my mother and were bought in the 1950's.  They are very special to me and I love the cookies they make.

6.  Bake cookies in 350 degree oven for 9-11 minutes.  Mine bake in 10 minutes on convection which is 325 degrees.  I always bake my cookies on convection.  It is a more even heat and the cookies brown evenly.

7. Cool cookies 5 minutes on pans.  Then move to cooling racks.  

8. When completely cooled decorate as desired. 

We use regular buttercream frosting in tubes and sprinkles.  I buy the red and green frosting in tubs premixed.  So much easier that way.  Red is very hard to mix to just the right tint without getting it to taste like dye.  Aldi's has the tubs of red and green frosting every year at the holidays.  I LOVE it!!  No messy mixing too.

Refrigerate any leftover dough for up to 2 weeks in fridge.  Return dough to room temp before rolling and cutting.  I made 4 batches of this dough.  Each batch makes about 8-10 large cookies and a dozen medium cutouts.

The Santa faces are heart shaped cutouts.

Our friends fight over Kristy's hand decorated cookies.  They are beautiful and tasty!!

Recipe without picture to copy to your computer and print:

Molding Dough for Cutout Cookies

Ingredients:

3 oz pkg of cream cheese (softened)

1/2 cup butter (softened)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 2/3 cup all purpose flour

Directions:

1.  Combine cream cheese, butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla.  Stir until well blended.

2.  Add flour and stir by hand till it forms a ball.

3.  Knead in bowl 1-2 minutes.

4.  Roll dough  to 1/3 to 1/2 inches depth on a floured surface.

5.  Cut cookies with floured cookie cutters into desired shapes and lay on ungreased cookie sheets to bake.

6.  Bake cookies in 350 degree oven for 9-11 minutes.  Mine bake in 10 minutes on convection which is 325 degrees.  I always bake my cookies on convection.  It is a more even heat and the cookies brown evenly.

7. Cool cookies 5 minutes on pans.  Then move to cooling racks.  

8. When completely cooled decorate as desired. 

We use regular buttercream frosting in tubes and sprinkles.  I buy the red and green frosting in tubs premixed.  So much easier that way.  Red is very hard to mix to just the right tint without getting it to taste like dye.  Aldi's has the tubs of red and green frosting every year at the holidays.  I LOVE it!!  No messy mixing too.  I used to have red hands for days after decorating cookies for Christmas!!  HaHa..HoHo!!

Refrigerate any leftover dough for up to 2 weeks in fridge.  Return dough to room temp before rolling and cutting.  I made 4 batches of this dough.  Each batch makes about 8-10 large cookies and a dozen medium cutouts.

 Today we had a Christmas Carol Sing along between services at church.  Miss Ella was quite the entertainment with her singing, dancing and shaking the bells.

What a joy she is to me!!!  Thank you Lord for the gift of family....especially grandchildren!!

Happy Trails,

Mtn Mama