Cut Out Butter Cookies

By michelew7

Shaped sugar cookies with icing. A HUGE family favorite for as long as I can remember. I always double this recipe when I make them.

Ingredients

• Cookies:
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Icing:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1b. 10X powdered sugar
• 1-3 teaspoons milk, half and half or cream

Details

Servings 60
Cooking time 8mins

Preparation

Step 1

Cookies:
Put dry ingredients in bowl. Cut in butter. Add remaining ingredients. Roll out to 1/4". Cut. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool; then ice and decorate.

Icing:
Using a mixer, cream softened butter and vanilla until smooth. Add sugar gradually, allowing butter and sugar to cream together before adding more. If you want your frosting a little creamier, add a teaspoon of milk at a time and beat on high until you get the right texture. Then, just use icing colors to tint the frosting the color of your choice.

Helpful hints:
Use rolling pin rings - http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/silicone-rolling-pin-rings - to get a consistent depth on the dough. I like thick cookies, so I use the biggest one. Also, the texture of the cookies is much better with butter instead of margarine.