Monday, May 23, 2011

1st Communion Sugar Cookies

If you read my previous post, you know that I had quite a busy weekend.  On Friday, I had an order for 50 Super Mario themed cake pops, an order for 48 sugar cookies with royal icing for Enzo's 1st communion due on Saturday, and an order of 2 dozen smores cupcakes for Sunday.  I had a unexpected baking fiasco with the sugar cookie order.  Note to self:  always try out a new recipe before using it for an order!  Remember how I blogged about using the sugar cookie recipe I used for the homemade Samoas?  Well, that was a FAIL.  The cookies didn't hold after cooling so all that butter and sugar for that triple batch was thrown out and had to make a run to the store and buy more butter and start all over.  

This time I used my go to sugar cookie recipe by Cookie Craft.  See recipe below. I'm still improving my novice piping skills and I hope to get better by the time I'm done with my cake decorating class that I'm taking with the sissy.  Overall, I think the cookies came out well.  I packaged them in cellophane bags and finished it off with white curling ribbon.  God Bless you, Enzo!  :)





Rolled Sugar Cookies-taken from Cookie Craft

3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla* or 1 teaspoon vanilla plus zest of 1 lemon
food coloring (if cookie design calls for it)

*Instead of vanilla, you can use other extracts such as almond or peppermint.

1. Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl.

2. Using your mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla (and lemon zest, if you're using it) or your extract of choice and mix until well blended.

3. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until the two are thoroughly blended.

4. If your cookie design calls for adding food coloring, do so now, and continue blending until desired color is reached and is evenly incorporated.

5. Turn out dough onto work surface and divide into two or three equal portions, Form each one into a rough disk.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

7. After you have rolled and cut the dough and the cookie shapes are on parchment-lined cookie sheets, bake them in the middle rack of the oven for 12-16 minutes or until the cookies start to turn slightly golden around the edges.

8. Cool cookies completely on a rack before icing or decorating.

Yield
2 1/2-inch cookies--about 30
3 1/2-inch cookies--about 16
4 1/2-inch cookies--about 12