Sugar-Cookie Cutouts

You'll absolutely love the taste and aroma when you try these cookie cutouts.

Recipe Ingredients:

Cookies:
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour

Powdered Sugar Glaze:
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
Paste food coloring, as desired

Decorative Frosting:
4 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
Paste food coloring, as desired

Cooking Directions:

1. For Cookies: Beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping bowl. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill dough for 3 hours or until easy to handle.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll half at a time to 1/8 inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2 inch cookie or biscuit cutter, cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake in a 375°F (190°C) oven 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Cool on a rack.
4. To Decorate: Glaze with white or tinted Powdered Sugar Glaze. Let dry.
5. For Powdered Sugar Glaze: In a medium mixing bowl combine sifted powdered sugar and milk. If needed, stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until glaze is easy to drizzle. Tint as desired with paste food coloring.
6. Once glaze on cookies is dry, prepare Decorative Frosting.
7. For Decorative Frosting: In a medium mixing bowl, stir together powdered sugar and milk until smooth. If needed, stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until frosting is easy to pipe. Tint frosting as desired with paste food coloring.
8. Pipe dots or lines with white or tinted Decorative Frosting. Let dry.
9. For swirled tops, glaze cookies as above. Using 1 teaspoon of milk at a time, thin some of the white or tinted Decorative Frosting until drizzling consistency. Scatter dots of thinned frosting on top of freshly glazed stars. To swirl, pull a wooden toothpick through dots.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Make-Ahead Tip: Wrap dough in plastic wrap. Place in an airtight or freezer container. Chill up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in refrigerator before using. Or, bake and cool cookies completely. Do not frost. In an airtight or freezer container, arrange cookies in a single layer; cover with a sheet of waxed paper. Repeat layers, leaving enough air space to close container easily. Seal, label, and freeze up to 1 month.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/36 of recipe): calories: 74, total fat: 4g, saturated fat: 2g, cholesterol: 10mg, sodium: 33mg, carbohydrate: 9g, fiber: 0g, protein: 1g, vitamin A: 1%, vitamin C: 0%, calcium: 1%, iron: 2%

Recipe provided by Better Homes and Gardens - BHG.com a member of the Home and Family Network for the best of cooking, gardening, decorating and more. © 2003 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved.