Basic Vanilla Sugar Cookie Dough 2 ¼ cups White Lily All-Purpose Flour ¾ cup granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Add the flour, sugar and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix to combine. Add the butter and set the mixer to low speed, creaming until the mixture looks crumbly, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and mix until the dough comes together, about 1 to 2 minutes more. Scoop the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into two clumps. Pat each clump into a ½-inch thick disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes. Then proceed with one (or more) of the following cookie methods:
Sparkly Roll and Cut Cookies Heat the oven to 375°F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Working one disk at a time, roll chilled dough into a large round, ⅛-inch thick. Using the cookie cutters of your choice, cut dough into shapes. Transfer shapes to the prepared baking sheets. Decorate with baking glitter, nonpareils, or silver dragees. Bake until cookies are set and just barely golden at the edges, about 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Linzer Jam Sandwiches Heat the oven to 375°F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Working one disc at a time, roll chilled dough into a large round, ⅛-inch thick. Select two cookie cutters — rounds and stars are classic — that come in graduated sizes (one large and one small). Use the larger cutter to cut dough into shapes, then use the smaller cutter to stamp out the center of only half of the shapes. (This is the window that the jam will show through when the cookies are sandwiched.). Transfer all of the shapes to the prepared baking sheets. Bake until cookies are set and just barely golden at the edges, about 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When the cookies are cool, spread the whole shapes with about ½ teaspoon of raspberry jam. Sprinkle the stamped-out center shapes with confectioners’ sugar, then sandwich the two pieces together.
Painted Pinwheels Place one disc of dough into a bowl and tint with green food coloring, kneading until it is smooth. Rewrap dough and chill until firm, about 30 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the green dough into a large rectangle about 9″ x 12″. Repeat with the plain dough. Lay the green dough on top of the plain dough so that it covers it. Trim any ragged edges to even it out. Starting from a long side, roll the two doughs tightly together into a long log. Cut the log in half to make two shorter logs. Wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap and transfer to the freezer to chill until very firm, about 2 hours. Heat oven to 375°F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into ¼-inch slices. Arrange slices, cut side down, on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until set and just barely golden at the edges, about 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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