Frosted Roll Out Butter Cookies

By Linda Larsen

busycooks.about.com

Roll Out Butter Cookies

Linda Larsen

These wonderful, tender cookies are classic, traditional Christmas fare. Look in the baking section of your supermarket for new decorating products. Edible glitter, wonderful colors of decorator icing, and different sprinkles will let you make your Christmas roll out cookies spectacular. By the way, paste food coloring comes in more vibrant colors than the typical liquid coloring. You can make the dough ahead of time and freeze it to have a cookie-decorating party, or freeze the individual cookies. They thaw beautifully.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes

Total Time: 32 minutes

Yield: 36 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened (NO substitutes)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla
• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder

Preparation:

In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, orange juice, and vanilla and beat well to combine. Sift flour and baking powder and add to butter mixture. Mix until a dough forms. Cover and chill dough until firm, about 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough, 1/2 at a time, on a well-floured surface, with stockinet covered rolling pin, to a 1/4" thickness. Cut with shaped cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 6-10 minutes until very lightly brown.

When cookies have cooled, frost with Buttercream Frosting, tinted different colors with liquid or paste food coloring.

To freeze, prepare dough and divide into four portions. Shape each portion into a 1/2" thick disc. Freeze on waxed paper lined cookie sheets, then pack into hard sided freezer containers. Label; freeze up to 6 months. To thaw and bake, let freezer container stand at room temperature for about an hour. One at a time, use each disc, rolling out and cutting cookies (keep remaining dough covered). Bake cookies and frost as directed.