Best Rolled Butter Cutout Cookies

Best "Cut Out" Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 tablespoons thin cream
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla or lemon flavoring

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and cream; mix well.
Stir soda into flour and add. Add flavoring and chill dough before rolling out. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Recipe from 1987 SD Special Olympics Cookbook pg 73

My Note: I have been looking for a cutout cookie recipe that uses baking soda instead of baking powder for a long time, and now I have one. That's how I remember cutout cookies in the old days... buttery, eggy, with a touch of soda flavor.

Easy Rolled Holiday Cookies

• 1 cup butter or margarine softened (2 sticks)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups flour (sifted)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Cream butter and sugar together in mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well.
Sift flour and baking powder together; Blend into the creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425°. Roll out a small amount of dough to 1/8-inch thickness on lightly floured board or pastry cloth. Keep remaining dough refrigerated until ready to use. Cut into rounds with your holiday cookie cutters. Arrange one inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on wire racks.
Recipe from 1983

Sparkly Cutout Cookie Stars

• 3 1/2 cups flour (unsifted)
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 (14 oz) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla or 2 tsp. almond or lemon extract
• 1 egg white, slightly beaten
• Red and Green colored sugars or colored sprinkles

In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat sweetened condensed milk, margarine, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Add dry ingredients; mix well. Chill 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F. On floured surface, knead dough to form a smooth ball. Divide into thirds. On a well-floured surface, roll out each portion to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out with floured star cookie cutter. Re-roll as necessary to use all dough. Place 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheets. Brush with egg white; sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges (do not overbake). Cool completely on wire racks. Store loosely covered at room temperature. Makes about 6 1/2 dozen cookies.

Note: If desired cut small stars from dough and place on top of larger stars. Proceed as above.
Recipe from the 1992 Cookie Collection Cookbook

Grandma's Rolled Cookies

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and vanilla. Add sugar gradually, creaming until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Sift dry ingredients together. Add gradually to creamed mixture. Chill thoroughly (3 to 4 hours) Roll on well-floured surface to 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Cut in desired shapes.

Decorate with colored sugar, decorations, or halved candied cherries before baking or when cool, glaze or pipe on confectioners' Icing. Makes about 8 dozen cookies. Decorator Icing

Note: Instead of butter or margarine you may use shortening and increase salt to 1 teaspoon.
Recipe from 1963

Want to hang cookies on a tree? Then make a hole with a toothpick near top of each cookie before baking.) Bake on ungreased cookie sheets in moderate 375 oven 6 to 8 minutes. Cool slightly on cookie sheet; remove to rack and finish cooling.

Rolled Christmas Cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Cream butter, gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Chill for ease in handling.

Roll out dough to 1/8" thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut with floured cookie cutters into desired Christmas shapes. Bake on a cookie sheet in preheated 350 oven 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Makes about 4 dozen.
Recipe from 1953

Holiday Icing

• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 2 tablespoon's butter or margarine, softened
• 1 to 2 teaspoons milk
• Few drops green food coloring

In a small bowl, mix confectioner's sugar, butter, 1 teaspoon milk and a few drops green food color. Add more milk if necessary to make frosting thick, but spreadable.
See the Holiday Icing Recipe.

Peanut Butter Cut Out Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter - softened
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• Colored sugars (optional)

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, beat margarine and peanut butter until well blended. Beat in sugars until blended. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture until mixed. Divide dough into thirds. Wrap each portion; refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Roll out dough, one third at a time, 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut out with cookie cutters. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. If desired, sprinkle cookies with colored sugars. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Santa Lollipop Cookies: Prepare cookie dough as above. Place lollipop sticks 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut out with 4 inch Santa cookie cutter; place over 1 end of each lollipop stick. Bake as above. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Wreath Cookies: Prepare cookie dough as above. Roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut with 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter with scalloped edge. Using 1/2 inch round cookie cutter with scalloped edge, cut out center of cookies. Bake as above. Decorate with red and green candied cherry pieces to form bows. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.
Recipe from a 1992 Cookie Collection cookbook

Easy Butter Cookies and Cookie Icing

• 4 sticks (1 pound butter)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 cups flour

Mix butter and sugar. Add egg. Mix in flour. Use cookie cutter to make into small cookies
Cook each batch at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes (lightly brown) Let cookies cool slightly before icing

ICING:
• 1 stick butter
• 1 box powdered (confectionery) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• milk (as needed)

Cream butter, add sugar and mix, Add vanilla, Add milk as needed for spreadable consistency and ice the cookies.

Cookie Cutouts

• 1 cup margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• Assorted Sunkist Fun Fruits

In a large bowl, with electric mixer, beat margarine with sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Combine flour with baking soda. Gradually add to margarine mixture, blending well after each addition. Chill at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 F. On lightly floured board, roll dough 1/8 inch thick; cut into assorted shapes. Decorate with fun fruit snacks. Place on lightly greased cookie sheets; bake 8 to 9 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks. Decorate, if desired, with decorative icing. Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies.

For Spicy Cookie Cutouts, increase brown sugar to 3/4 cup and add 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and 1 tsp. ginger to flour mixture.

For Chocolate Cookie Cutouts, decrease flour to 2 3/4 cups, increase granulated sugar to 1 cup and add 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder to flour mixture.
Favorite recipe from Thomas J. Lipton Company

Roll Out Cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 lg. egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with a mixer. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add baking powder and flour 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. The dough will be stiff. Blend last flour in by hand.

Do not chill dough. Divide it into 2 balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball in a circle about 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Dip cutters in flour before each use. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet on top rack of oven for 6 to 12 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned.

Cream Cheese Cookie Cut Outs

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• Almond Frosting, and assorted candies and colored sugars for decoration (optional)

In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until well combined. Add sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract; beat well. In small bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to cream cheese mixture; beat until well mixed. Divide dough in half. Wrap each portion; refrigerate until easy to handle, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll out dough, half at a time, 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut out with desired cookie cutters. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Pipe or spread on Almond Frosting onto cooled cookies. Garnish with assorted candies and colored sugars, if desired. Makes about 7 dozen cookies.
Favorite Recipe from Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board 1992

Almond Frosting:
In small bowl, beat 2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar, 2 tablespoons softened butter and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract until smooth. For piping consistency, beat 4 or 5 teaspoons milk. For spreading consistency, add a little more milk. If desired, tint with food coloring.

Rolled Sour Cream Christmas Cookies

• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup butter or oleo
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs, sour cream, soda, and vanilla. Add flour, 1 cup at a time. Refrigerate dough 1/2 to 1 hour before rolling out. Keep dough cool. Roll out 1/4 inch thick. Cut out with cookie cutters. Bake at 350 degrees about 10 minutes until bottoms are lightly browned.
Recipe from 1997 Friedens Reformed United Church of Christ, Tripp, SD recipe book pg 16

Paintbrush Cookies

For something different, try this rolled cookie recipe called Paintbrush Cookies from an old Betty Crocker Cookbook called "Cookbook for Boys and Girls." The paint is a mixture of egg yolk and food coloring. Here is a way to make your own cookie cutters, and here's what the paintbrush cookies look like. Paintbrush Cookies.