Cookie Trials 2010 – Coastal Sugar Cookie Cutouts

Cookie Trials 2010 Day 1 – Recipe 1

As mentioned in our previous post these cookies come from an article in Coastal Living magazine. The shapes of the cookie cutouts were our first attraction to this recipe followed by look at the sugar cookie recipe. This is a simple, standard easy to make sugar cookie dough with one ingredient we had not seen in sugar cookies before – cream cheese. We have seen milk but not this dairy product before.

The dough was easy to manage and cutouts were not a problem except for our palm tree that was a bit temperamental about keeping the trunk attached to the palms. The cookies had good flavor without being overly sweet.

Next was the icing since we found the taste of the cookies to be acceptable. What a lot of fun glazing some palm trees while the wind is blowing air that is below freezing. Throw a whale in there to remember the warm water and a sea shell for the blazing sun. Finally, put on your skin diving gear and explore the rainbow fish out by the reef. Not your typical holiday cookies but they are non-denominational!

Notice the sugar crystals on the whale – my idea for barnacles. The rainbow fish colors came from fruit flavored twizzler licorice. The coconuts on the palm trees from reese’s pieces but M&Ms will work as well.

The final results were positive. The cookies were not as hard as many traditional sugar cookies. They baked without issue. Of course the fun with these were the shapes bringing summer into our winter months.

Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Decorating Icing

Preparation

1. Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk, and beat until smooth. Stir in extracts and combine.

2. Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating just until blended. Shape dough into 2 balls and wrap in wax paper. Chill 1 hour or up to 1 week.

3. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. (If dough is too firm to roll, let stand 5 to 10 minutes.) Cut into shapes using your cookie cutters. Place cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheets; bake, in batches, at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool on pans 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

4. Decorate your cooking with Royal Icing and coloring.