Recipe courtesy Tracy Griffith. Ingredients: 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 large egg plus 1 large yolk
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract Preparation: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together all-purpose flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter and vegetable shortening and, using a hand mixer on low speed, combine ingredients until a coarse cornmeal texture forms. In a separate bowl, mix heavy cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla until combined. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture by hand, mixing until the dough forms a ball. Knead dough until smooth, about one minute. Divide dough in half, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 4 hours. Once chilled, remove dough and let it stand for about 10 minutes. Unwrap and roll on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4" thick. Cut flattened dough into shapes with cookie cutters and transfer to a nonstick cookie sheet. Space them about 1" apart. Bake about 10 minutes, just until edges turn a golden brown. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack. The cookies are now ready to decorate (figure A). Servings: 40 cookies Chef's Tips: - The dough can be prepared up to a day in advance and kept chilled until ready to roll and bake.
- After baking, the undecorated cookies can be frozen up to a month, then defrosted and decorated.
- Store the decorated cookies in an airtight container.
- The flatter the dough, the crisper the cookies. If you want chewier cookies, make them a little thicker.
- For an instant pastry bag, place frosting in a plastic bag and clip off one corner with scissors.
Did you know? The baking and decorating of cookies for Santa is not just an American tradition. December 6th is the feast day of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children. For centuries children in Switzerland have practiced the tradition of using cookies both to welcome and to honor jolly Old St. Nick. Website resources for Sugar Cookies: Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies from Food TV.com Border Sugar Cookies from Food TV.com B. Smith's Sugar Cookies from Food TV.com We at DIY believe all of the recipes from DIY Holiday Entertaining are accurate and reliable, but since we have not tested them personally, we can claim no responsibility if the desired results are not achieved.
RESOURCES :
The Christmas Cookie Book
Model: 0811830950
Author: Lou Seibert Pappas
(2001)
Chronicle Publishing Company
Website: www.chroniclebooks.com
Familyfun's Cookies For Christmas
Model: 0786864699
Author: Deanna F. Cook
(1998)
Hyperion Books
New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212-456-0100
Classic Crafts and Recipes for the Holidays
Model: 0609808508
Author: Martha Stewart
(2001)
William Morrow Books / Hearst Books
Website: www.harpercollins.com
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