Crisp Sugar Cookie Cutouts with Almond Buttercream

Creative:

This recipe is Madre's go-to for sugar cookie cutouts. And what better season to make these in bulk than February? Hearts are the perfect cutout, as they are easy to frost, easy to cut out, and less likely to break than other, more complex shapes. Now, this post isn't the most "beautiful" in the world, but it's definitely kid-friendly. V-man totally put the sprinkles on every single cookie after he helped me whip up some quick pink and white buttercream to frost them with. I must say, he did rather well with the sprinkles!

Although I'm a sucker for thick, chewy sugar cookies, Pops loves a good crisp one. So naturally, that's the kind that Madre specializes in! And quite frankly, I love a good crunch in my sugar cookie every once in a while, especially if that crunch is balanced out with a thick coating of almond buttercream- (perfect for icing these cookies, as it dries quickly and allows them to be stacked for storage). The flavor in these cookies is absolutely perfect!

Crisp Sugar Cookie Cutouts with Almond Buttercream

This is from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It is my favorite one, I don't even chill them. Also my baking time was different as you know. But I love the recipe and I followed it exactly. 

Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• ¾ cup sugar
• teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. In a large bowl beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Cover; chill about 30 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough, half at a time, until 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Using 2-1/2-inch cookie cutters, cut dough into desired shapes. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until edges are very light brown. Transfer to wire racks; cool.

Frosting (from Our Best Bites):

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla
• 1/8 tsp. almond extract
• 2-3 Tbsp. milk (optional)
• food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. Beat butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add powdered sugar to butter and beat on low speed until combined and then on medium-high speed for a full minute. Add extracts. Reduce speed and add milk (if needed), one Tbsp. at a time, beating well after each addition, until desired consistency is reached. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

 Compassionate:

We received a surprise Valentine in the mail last week from Grandma and Grandpa. It contained a can with the following exciting instructions:

Inside the can was a batch of these crisp homemade sugar cookies, all wrapped up and ready to decorate, some powdered sugar for making frosting, and some sprinkles for decorating! We could not wait until Valentine's Day to decorate these. It had to be done soon...before we ate all the cookies! Thanks for the lovely Valentine treat, Grandma and Grandpa! We also got to share the "love" as we sent a few cookies with Shaner to Young Mens/Young Womens for the youth to enjoy. 

 

Happy:

While the mixer whipped up our frosting and the cookies became works of kid-friendly art, V-man, C-Sue, and I rocked out to Disney music in the kitchen. There is nothing better than spending time with loved-ones doing things that WE love to do.