While people make cakes and pies during the holidays, cookies are always on everyone’s list of favorite baked goods. When stored properly, they’ll taste great for weeks. However, they’re best hot out of the oven. This year, surprise your family with these amazing holiday cutout cookies.
Ingredients
You’ll love this easy-to-follow recipe for cutout cookies. Not only do they taste amazing, but also if you have kids, they’ll enjoy frosting them. For this recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- 1 cup butter (softened)
- 1 cup shortening (not butter)
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 6 tablespoons evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
In addition, you’ll need some ingredients for the frosting. These include:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 6 tablespoons half-and-half (adjust if needed)
- Food coloring
- Sprinkles (you can use one or several kinds)
Making Yummy Holiday Cookies
Now that you have all the ingredients for these delicious cookies, the fun part begins. For this, you’ll need these supplies:
- Two large mixing bowls
- Baking sheets
- Spatula
- Rolling pin
- Whisk
- Sturdy mixing spoon
- Cooking racks
Blending the Ingredients
In one bowl, add the butter, shortening, and granulated sugar. Blend this well with the spoon until the mixture’s light and fluffy. To that same bowl, add the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Again, stir the ingredients until they’re all mixed.
In the second bowl, add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the ingredients well. You’ll then gradually add the ingredients from the first bowl, constantly stirring along the way. With the dough ready, divide it into four equal portions.
Preparing the Dough
Next, shape each portion into a circle. Then, cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. That’ll make the dough firm to roll out. The following day, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the meantime, sprinkle some flour on a flat surface. Roll out each portion of dough to roughly 1/8 inch thick.
To prevent the cookie cutters from sticking to the dough, dip the cutting edges in flour. Now, cut out the cookies. Place them roughly 1/8 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. When done, roll out the scrap pieces of dough. That way, you’ll end up with even more cookies.
Baking the Holiday Cookies
Place the cookies in the oven and bake for five to seven minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Then, take them out of the oven and place them on wire cooling racks. As the cookies cool, you’ll make the frosting. Remember, if you like a lot of frosting, double the recipe.
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Making the Frosting
For this, wipe out and dry one of the bowls. Then, add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and just four tablespoons of evaporated milk. If you find the frosting too thick, add the remaining evaporated milk, one tablespoon at a time.
Whisk the ingredients to get the consistency needed to frost the cookies. You can then add one food coloring. However, if you want an assortment of colors, divide the frosting into several bowls. After that, put the sprinkles on top. In addition, you can add chocolate shavings, shredded coconut, and even nuts.