Old-fashioned cutout cookies are a delightful and timeless treat that evoke memories of childhood, family gatherings, and the warmth of the holiday season. These cookies, characterized by their intricate designs and crisp, crumbly texture, have been passed down through generations and continue to be a beloved addition to cookie jars and dessert tables. Whether you prefer classic sugar cookies, gingerbread men, or festive snowflakes, the art of cutout cookies is an expression of creativity and culinary joy. In this article, we will guide you through the process of making these timeless treats, from gathering the essential ingredients to mastering the techniques of rolling, cutting, and baking.
Here are our top 8 tried and tested recipes!
MOM'S OLD-FASHIONED CUTOUTS
Old family memories rush in as soon as I make these traditional cutout cookies. - Lois Smit, Monee, Illinois
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 1h
Yield 5 dozen.
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then sour cream and vanilla. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; gradually beat into creamed mixture. , Divide dough into three portions. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle., On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets., Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until light browned. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., In a small bowl, mix the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, salt and enough cream to reach desired consistency. If desired, tint with food coloring. Decorate cookies as desired.
Nutrition Facts :
OLD-FASHIONED CUTOUT COOKIES
These simple cookies are so crisp and buttery, it's hard to eat just one. I make them for special holidays, but they're welcome anytime. -Elizabeth Turner, Lula, Georgia
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 25m
Yield about 1-1/2 dozen.
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Gradually add flour and mix well. , On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with 3-in. cookie cutters dipped in flour. Sprinkle with additional sugar. , Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Reroll scraps if desired. Bake at 375° for 7-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 185 calories, Fat 6g fat (3g saturated fat), Cholesterol 37mg cholesterol, Sodium 299mg sodium, Carbohydrate 31g carbohydrate (16g sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 3g protein.
OLD FASHIONED SUGAR COOKIES
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Categories dessert
Time 4h40m
Yield 3 dozen cookies, depending on the size of the cutters
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a second large bowl and mix well. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture 1 cup at a time. Chill the dough for 3 to 4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Roll out the dough and cut it into shapes with cookie cutters or a knife. Place the shapes on the prepared cookie sheet. If decorating with colored sugar, brush the cookies with milk and sprinkle with colored sugar (if using royal icing, leave unfinished). Bake until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies.
- Remove the cookies to a rack to cool completely. If using royal icing, decorate the cookies as desired.
- Combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl. Mix slowly with an electric mixer until stiff enough to form peaks; the icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly. If the frosting is over-beaten, it will get aerated which makes it harder to work with. If this happens, let the frosting sit to settle, and then use a rubber spatula to vigorously beat and smooth out the frosting.
- Add up to 1 tablespoon food coloring and mix with a rubber spatula until the color is uniform. Gels are best with royal icing. You don't want to thin them with liquid colors. Be careful of adding too much color, which reduces the sheen of the frosting and can break down the consistency of the frosting over a couple of days. Store the icing at room temperature, covered, with plastic wrap on the surface.
- Yield: 3 1/2 cups icing
CUT-OUT COOKIES
Provided by Nigella Lawson : Food Network
Categories dessert
Time 1h42m
Yield 25 to 30 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and moving towards moussiness, then beat in the egg and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, and mix gently but surely. If you think the finished mixture is too sticky to be rolled out, add more flour, but do so sparingly as too much will make the dough tough. Form into a fat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Sprinkle a suitable surface with flour, place disk of dough on it, and sprinkle a little more flour on top of that. Then roll it out to a thickness of about 1/4-inch. Cut into shapes, dipping the cutter into flour as you go, and place the cookies a little apart on 2 parchment or silpat lined baking sheets.
- Bake for 8 to 12 minutes; obviously it depends on the shape you're using and whether they are on the upper or lower shelf, though you can swap them around after about 5 minutes. When they're ready expect them to be tinged a pronounced gold around the edges; they'll be softish still in the middle, but set while they cool.
- Remove the cookies with a flat, preferably flexible, spatula to a wire rack. When they are fully cooled, you can get on with the icing. Put a couple of tablespoons of not-quite-boiling water into a large bowl, add the sieved confectioners sugar and mix together, adding more water as you need to form a thick paste. Color,as desired. I think pastes are much better than liquid, not just because the range of colors is better but because they don't dilute the icing as they tint. Ice cooled cookies, as desired.
CLASSIC CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIE CUTOUTS
If your Christmas season gets so hectic that you only have time to bake one batch of cookies, we suggest that this be the one you make. This is the kind of sugar cookie that generations of bakers have relied on, with a buttery texture and just-right tenderness. The accompanying glaze requires just three ingredients and is a standby that you can just as easily rely on when you need a glaze on other cookie varieties. It sets up nicely and is ideal for decorating, tinting well and spreading easily. The process of making sugar cookie cutouts is as essential to the holidays as opening gifts and singing Christmas songs, and if you can clear some time out on your schedule, it's a relaxing activity, too. Pull out all your favorite cookie cutters, whether they're classic hearts and stars or cute winter characters like reindeer and penguins, and bake up a batch-this recipe yields 60 cookies. When it's time to decorate, you have a blank canvas to indulge your style and creativity. Some bakers like to go all in on color and whimsy, while others prefer more simple and elegant finishing flourishes-it's all up to you. What we can promise is that no matter what shapes you cut them into or how you decorate them, you'll end up with cookies that are as delicious as they are beautiful.
Provided by Betty Crocker Kitchens
Categories Dessert
Time 4h10m
Yield 60
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, the butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, almond extract and egg until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
- Heat oven to 375°F. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough 3/16 inch thick. Cut into assorted shapes with cookie cutters, or cut around patterns traced from storybook illustrations. If cookies are to be hung as decorations, make a hole in each 1/4 inch from top with end of plastic straw. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- In medium bowl, beat all frosting ingredients until smooth and spreadable. Tint with food color if desired. Frost and decorate cookies as desired with frosting and colored sugars.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 65, Carbohydrate 9 g, Cholesterol 10 mg, Fat 1/2, Fiber 0 g, Protein 1 g, SaturatedFat 2 g, ServingSize 1 Cookie, Sodium 40 mg
OLD-FASHIONED LEMON SUGAR COOKIES
These large cookies have a classic lemony flavor, a chewy texture, and glistening, crackly tops created with a double sprinkling of sanding sugar.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Cookie Recipes
Yield Makes about 20 (3 1/2-inch) cookies
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside.
- Put sugars and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed 30 seconds. Add butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon juice. Reduce speed; gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
- Scoop dough using a 2-inch ice cream scoop; space cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten cookies slightly with a spatula. Sprinkle tops with sanding sugar, then lightly brush with a wet pastry brush; sprinkle with more sanding sugar.
- Bake cookies until golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks using a spatula; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
GRANDMA'S CUTOUT COOKIES
This is a soft cutout cookie with a tint of nutmeg.
Provided by Gina McKinney
Categories Desserts Cookies Cut-Out Cookie Recipes
Yield 60
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, sour milk and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters. Bake 10 minutes. Cool and frost or decorate.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 98.5 calories, Carbohydrate 14.9 g, Cholesterol 6.4 mg, Fat 3.7 g, Fiber 0.3 g, Protein 1.4 g, SaturatedFat 1 g, Sodium 44.1 mg, Sugar 6.9 g
OLD-FASHIONED CUT OUT FROSTED BUTTER COOKIES
I made these cookies with my mom when I was young. My daughter and I now make these every year for Christmas keeping the tradition going. This recipe comes out of a darling cookbook dated 1947 called Best Loved Foods of Christmas. The pictures and graphics are so adorable. Baking the cookies isn't always the fun part but the decorating is a blast! My daughter asks me every year about SUMMER time Mom, can we make Cutout cookies again this year LOL! I always say YES most certainly! The time it takes to make these is worth the time. If you share these with others you will get so many compliments! When I make these I break it up into a 2 day job. First day we bake the cookies and next day we decorate. These cookies also store well. I store them in a big air tight plastic container. Anyways have a blast making these. Your children or Grandchildren will grow up having fond memories of you and them baking these as I do with my Mother!
Provided by SoCalCookerGal
Categories Dessert
Time 35m
Yield 80 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg, milk and vanilla.
- Now blend in the dry ingredients flour, baking powder and salt until dough is formed. If desired you can chill for an hour for easier handling. I've never done this and the dough always rolled out fine for me.
- Divide the dough in thirds. On a lightly floured board roll out the dough to about 1/8th inch thickness. Using cookie cutters cut into shapes and place on a cookie sheet.
- Bake in oven for about 5 to 8 minutes until lightly golden brown. Cool on a rack.
- SPECIAL NOTE: You can use vanilla extract but I think vanilla paste makes these cookies taste even more special using vanilla paste.
- I use vintage Christmas cookie cutters where i found on Ebay. I bought vintage cooper cookie cutters instead of the aluminum ones due to safety concerns regarding the use of aluminum. But you can use modern cookie cutters and you can make these anytime not just for Christmas.
- Please see my recipe for Creamy Vanilla Frosting where I will be giving some decorating suggestions. =).
Tips:
- Soften the butter: This will make it easier to cream together with the sugar and ensure that the cookies are light and fluffy.
- Chill the dough: This will help the cookies hold their shape and prevent them from spreading too much in the oven.
- Roll the dough to an even thickness: This will ensure that the cookies bake evenly.
- Use a variety of cookie cutters: This will make your cookies more festive and fun.
- Bake the cookies until they are just set: Overbaking will make them dry and crumbly.
- Let the cookies cool completely before frosting them: This will help the frosting set properly.
Conclusion:
Old-fashioned cutout cookies are a classic holiday treat that is sure to please everyone. They are easy to make and can be decorated in a variety of ways. With a little planning, you can make these cookies ahead of time and freeze them for later. So next time you are looking for a simple and delicious holiday cookie, give these old-fashioned cutout cookies a try.
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