Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Refrigerator Cookies


What a great recipe to have up your sleeve for this time of year! This recipe yields a basic (very tasty) plain cookie that can be rolled out for shaped cookies or simply sliced off a chilled roll into perfect rounds. It doesn't spread much in the oven and must be made ahead of time. The dough can sit up to a week in the refrigerator, so if you've got to bring cookies to a party--you can make the dough well in advance! A great icing for cookie decorating is Sugar Cookie Icing.

From Fannie Farmer, 13th edition

  • 1/4 pound butter
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 2/3 c. brown sugar
  • 1/3 c. white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 c. flour
  • 1/4 t. cream of tartar
  • 1/4 t. salt
  1. Cream butter, vanilla, and sugars together. Beat in egg. Mix flour, cream of tartar, and salt together and add to egg/sugar/butter mixture. Combine well.
  2. For slice and bake cookies: Shape in a roll or rolls about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in waxed paper or foil and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Can freeze at this point. When ready to bake, slice off rounds 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick with a sharp knife.
  3. For rolled cookies: Form dough into a large, fat disk, and wrap well in waxed paper or foil. Chill several hours or up to a week. Using a well-floured board and rolling pin, roll out to 1/4-inch thick and cut into desired shapes.
  4. To Bake: Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for about 8 minutes. Cookies will be very lightly browned.
Makes about 5 dozen small rounds or 4 dozen shaped cookies (I used a variety of shapes/sizes ranging from 2-inches to 4-inches)

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