Best Cut Out Cookie Dough
Whenever the mood strikes for cut out cookies, I don't have the patience to wait for the dough to chill, especially if children are involved! This recipe yields a buttery dough that doesn't require chilling and it doesn't spread out when baking. The glaze is just a fun way of decorating cookies. Remember doing tie-dye? Well... these cookies are edible tie-dye! If you are working with kids, remember that it's the process that is fun! And like all tie-dye, it's so exciting to see how it looks! It's like my great-niece said, "We are going to do a speriment". How delicious is that?!
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup sugar
- zest of one orange (optional)
- 1 cup good quality cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting
- ½ teaspoon salt
Tie-Dye Glaze
- 2½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tbsp milk plus more as needed
- 3 tbsp light corn syrup, optional
- ½ tsp pure vanilla or almond extract, optional
- Assorted gel food coloring
Instructions
To make cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
- Lay parchment paper on cookie sheets.
- Place butter and sugar in bowl of stand-up mixer and mix on low speed for a few minutes. Butter will soften. Set aside. If using orange zest, mix with sugar first.
- In small bowl, beat eggs with whisk. Stir in vanilla and salt.
- Add egg mixture to butter mixture. Mix until well blended.
- Add flour one cup at a time to liquid mixture. Mix with stand mixer on low until dough forms.
- Remove dough from bowl and place on clean, lightly floured counter. Knead lightly until it is uniform. Set dough aside.
- Lightly flour counter and rolling pin with extra flour. Take a portion of dough and roll out to ⅜” thick. Dust flour as needed to ensure that dough does not stick to counter. Use cookie cutters to cut out cookies.
- Transfer all cookies with spatula on baking sheets.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the edges are just turning golden. If you prefer a crispier cookie, bake until lightly golden.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting.
To make glaze:
- In medium shallow bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, milk, corn syrup (if using) and extract (if using). Add more milk as necessary to make an icing that drizzles easily but slightly thick like honey.
- Scatter few drops of food colouring over surface. Repeat with different colours. Use toothpick or skewer to swirl through icing, leaving streaks. Do not overmix food coloring to avoid muddy colour.
- Working one at a time, carefully hold cookie face down by edges and dip cookie face down into glaze. Do not move it around. Lift cookie and let drip for a few seconds.
- Then turn cookie right side up and transfer to cooling rack, letting any excess glaze drip off. If icing loses its streaks as you dip, add a little more food coloring and swirl again.
- Let the icing set for at least 4 hours (and up to 12). But you can eat them anytime!!!
