"The Recipe"

My at-most favorite recipe for decorated cookies is a Butter Cookie Dough. For me, it comes out perfect every time, tastes great, and is so easy to work with. I love to "jazz up" (change/add things) recipes to make them one of a kind and well, just because I like to. This is the ONE recipe, I don't change, add, or subtract...it's perfect. The picture to the right was for a 50th wedding anniversary. I used this dough and royal icing. Let me tell you, royal icing...whole other post (watch for it).

Tips about this recipe:

*Makes about 32 3-inch cookies

*Make about 28 4-inch cookies

*The dough will puff up, so roll the dough thin

*Double batch=ok

*Half batch=ok

*Bake time 12 minutes- is always perfect (ovens will vary-if using a stone may need longer)

*When the cookies are done (cooked through) they crackle (I LOVE that sounds)

*A MUST: refrigerate the dough before you roll it AND before you put tray in oven

Ready? Here it is...

Butter Cookie Dough

1 cup salted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 Tablespoons whipping cream

2 Tablespoons vanilla extract (yes, Tablespoons)

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups unbleached/regular flour

1  1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a mixer (using paddle attachment) combine butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg, cream, vanilla, and almond extract all at once and throughly blend. In a separate bowl, stir together flour and baking soda (I never sift). Add dry ingredients to the wet ones and blend (I add the dry in 1/3, and it WILL create a puff cloud, so be careful. At this point, it can be hard for your mixer to mix, on a higher speed, pulse until completely combined. Look at the bottom of the bowl for dough balls-those are bad, you don't want them to stay that way...keep pulsing) Refrigerate for about an hour, longer if possible. Roll out to desired thickness about 1/4 inch or so and cut with cutters. Place on silicone mat (on baking sheet), place in fridge for at least 15 minutes. Place in oven and bake for 8-12 minutes (do NOT touch them until they've cooled for about 5 minutes). Take them off the tray and place on cooling rack (I use wax paper sometimes). 

I'll be posting my Valentine's Day cookies soon (I gotta what a little longer). I'll be building ideas and topics based off this recipe. So give it a try, and let me know if you have any issues.

Good Luck!