Kathy's Shaped-Cut Sugar Cookies

for Holidays & Special Occasions

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
(1 teaspoon of food coloring is optional as per occasion)
3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:
In a large bowl, thoroughly cream together butter and sugar.

Beat in eggs, salt, and vanilla until light and fluffy. You may add 1 tsp.
food coloring at this time for specific holiday or occasion.

Add flour to creamed mixture, one cup at a time, slowly mixing until flour is
incorporated.

Divide dough into four equal parts. Wrap in plastic wrap or bags and refrigerate
overnight or until firm. After firm:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

On a floured surface, roll out dough one package at a time to 1/8 inch thick.

Cut into desired shapes. Remove excess dough before taking the cutter away.

Using a thin metal spatula, transfer shapes to lightly greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar.

Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. CAREFULLY WATCH THEM, so that
they DON'T BURN!

Another method is to bake them bare and wait until they cool to add
decorating icing or Royal Icing* for drawing &/or flooding; fresh or powdered
egg whites brushed on and then sugared or sprinkled sanding sugar on those areas
of the cookie you want decorated.

*Royal Icing
Makes about 2 1/2 cups
2 large egg whites*, or more to thin icing
4 cups sifted confectioner's (powdered) sugar, or more to thicken icing
Juice of 1 lemon
3 drops glycerin (optional)

Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Add sugar, lemon juice, and
glycerin (if using); beat for 1 minute more. If icing is too thick, add
more egg whites; if it is too thin, add more sugar.

Reitha's Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

3 3/4 c flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c butter
1 1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 c brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c peanut butter

Directions:

Sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.

Mix butter, white sugar, brown sugar and eggs in bowl.

Add 1 c flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture. Mix well.

Add remaining flour and peanut butter.

Stir or mix until flour is well blended.

Make balls of dough and make criss crosses on top of each cookie with a fork. This helps flatten the cookies a bit.

Bake at 350* for 12 or so minutes.

Maryann's Brown Sugar Cookies

Notes:

The most efficient way to bake these cookies is to portion and bake half of the dough. While the first batch is in the oven, the remaining dough can be prepared for baking. Avoid using a nonstick skillet to brown the butter. The dark color of the nonstick coating makes it difficult to gauge when the butter is sufficiently browned. Use fresh brown sugar, as older (read: harder and drier) brown sugar will make the cookies too dry.

Makes 2 Dozen Cookies

Ingredients:

14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (about 1 3/4 ounces)
2 cups packed dark brown sugar (14 ounces)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus 2
Tablespoons (about 10 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter to melt; set aside for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large (18 by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. In shallow baking dish or pie plate, mix granulated sugar and 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, rubbing between fingers, until well combined; set aside. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in medium bowl; set aside.

3. Add remaining 1 3/4 cups brown sugar and salt to bowl with cooled butter; mix until no sugar lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula; add egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 1 minute. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.

4. Divide dough into 24 portions, each about 2 tablespoons, rolling between hands into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Working in batches, toss balls in reserved sugar mixture to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart, 12 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but it will take 3 batches.)

5. Bake one sheet at a time until cookies are browned and still puffy and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone; see photo below), 12 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake.

6. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Kathy's Vanishing Oatmeal-Raisin-Walnut Cookies*

Makes about 4 dozen

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
½ tsp. salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned)
1 cup of raisins (softened)
1 cup chopped walnuts,etc

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat together butter & sugars until creamy.

Add eggs & vanilla; beat well

Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon & salt; mix well. (For High Altitude, increase flour to 1 ¾ cups)

Stir in oats and raisins (prepare raisins by adding a little boiling water to them to soften, then drain the water before adding to mixture).

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.

Bar cookies: Bake 30 to 35 minutes in ungreased 13 x 9 inch metal baking pan.

*Copied & embellished from the Quaker Oats Company @2005 box recipe. Kathleen Revak

Reitha's Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1 C softened butter

1 1/2 C sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

With mixer, cream butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs together until fluffy.

Add 1 C of flour mixture to wet ingredients. Either stir by hand or use mixer. Continue adding one cup at a time until all is combined.

Roll dough into balls and flatten on cookie sheet with dampened glass.

Sprinkle with sugar and/or sprinkles.

Bake 8 to 13 minutes, depending on how big the cookies are and how your oven works.

Nancy's Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups rolled oats
1 2/3 cups butterscotch chips (one bag)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl beat the butter or margarine, white sugar and brown sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well.

Stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until blended.

Stir in the oats and the butterscotch chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges begin to brown.

Sherry's Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies.)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (2 sticks) or shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp real vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups oatmeal
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp milk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 ½ cups chopped walnuts or pecans [optional]

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°

2. Blend oatmeal into a fine powder with a food processor or blender. Set aside.

3. Melt sticks of butter into liquid on medium heat.

4. Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar together in a separate bowl.

5. After creaming sugar and butter together, add eggs and vanilla extract. Set aside.

6. Mix together flour, ground-up oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.

7. Add the creamed mixture to the dry mixture. Add Milk. Mix all ingredients well. Use an electronic mixer if desired.

8. Mix in the Chocolate Chips and nuts (if desired) to the dough.

9. Refrigerate dough for 10 minutes.

10. Drop 1-2” balls on un-greased cookie sheets, two inches apart, and bake at 375° for 6-8 minutes.


Tips for success:

*Keep the ingredients cold. Don’t let the eggs sit on the counter while you mix the dry ingredients. Use them straight from the refrigerator. Keep the chocolate chips in the freezer so that they are extremely cold when it is time to bake the cookies. Put the dough back in the fridge until you are ready to load the next sheet.