butter cookies

Is there anyone out there that has a great recipie for a cut out cookie, either butter or sugar.  I had a really good butter cookie recipie but misplaced it and I don't feel like going through the trial baking again.  I promised my daughter that I would make cookies for her wedding favors and need about 300.  I want to make snowflake cookies for a December wedding.  Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

We have added Irish Shortbread cookies to our collection of holiday treats, the other favorite around here being the Magic Squares - although this recipe we've also called "Zoo Cookies", because they used to have these amazing cookies at the zoo, always expertly decorated to look like various zoo animals, which I admit to having gone sometimes with the cookie being the prime attraction. Then they seem to have quit selling them there, so I had to find out what sort of cookies they were to satisfy the occasional craving. Having found out what they're made of, I now know why they tasted so good, so we have to limit how often they get made. ;) I realized we've been making these regularly now and I've never posted the recipe, so I'm correcting that now.

Irish Shortbread

Ingredients:
2 cups butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour.

Method:
Bring butter to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Cream the butter until it is the consistency of whipped cream.
Beat in the sugar. Add salt. Add flour in 4 portions (one cup at a time) mixing well after each addition.
Turn out onto a floured board and pat or roll to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. (Dough was crumbly so required squashing to make it feel clay-like)
Cut into shape desired with a cookie cutter.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Wait till cookies are mostly cooled to ice.

Royal Icing

3 Tablespoons Meringue Powder (I can't find this stuff anywhere so I use some creme of tartar powder instead)
4 cups confectioners' sugar (about 1lb.)
6 Tablespoons warm water*
Add flavoring such as vanilla, almond, lemon, or whatever you like (I use vanilla)
Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).
Recipe makes 3 cups.

NOTE: Keep all utensils completely grease-free for proper icing consistency.
* For stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.

We like to put out small bowls of icing with some food gel coloring and some clean paint brushes and then the kids do our decorating for us.

Poted on www.evilshenanigans.com on 4/20/2009

If given the choice of any dessert I want, I almost always pick the cookie.  I adore them.  During the Holidays I tend to eat and bake so many cookies that I get a little tired of them and I can't stand to make them until Spring is fully underway. 

These cookies have a delicious secret hidden in them.  A mixture of ground almonds, mini-chocolate chips, vanilla sugar, and cinnamon.   I love little suprises like this in my desserts.  People always think you slaved to make something so impressive, but I must confess ... these are so easy to make!  The dough is supple and easy to work with, and they hold the filling well. 

Once baked they maintain their shape well, and once cool completly are sturdy little things.  The dough is not terribly sweet, it is more like a pie dough than a cookie dough in many aspects, so the dusting of powdered sugar is a welcome addition.  If you do not want to roll or dust your cookies, and often I feel that step is one step too many myself,  feel free to add a tablespoon or two of additional sugar to the dough.

These cookies are crisp, buttery, delicate, and remarkable good.  They keep for as many as five days in an air tight container on the counter.   

Plus, they just look darn pretty!

Almond and Chocolate Filled Butter Cookies   Yield 36 cookies

Dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (or 2 tabplesoons sugar with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla)
1 cup salted butter
2 tablepsoons milk
1 tablespoon water

Filling:

1/2 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup vanilla sugar
3 tablespoons mini-chocolate chips
1 1/2 teaspoons water

Powdered sugar for dusting

Heat the oven to 350 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the almonds with the sugar, chocolate chips and water.  Mix well and set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor add the flour, cinnamon, sugar, milk, water, and butter.  Pulse the mixture until it forms a ball.  You may need to add up to an additional tablespoon of water.

Roll the dough into a log about 18″ long, then cut into 1/2″ slices.  Roll each slice into a ball.

Take one ball of doug, press your finger into the center, then shape the ball into a cup. 

Fill each cup with a little of the filling then pinch the dough closed.  Roll gently between your palms to round the ball and place seam side down on the prepared pans.  Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly golden.  Cool completly on the pan.

Roll in powdered sugar before serving.