Hej! I found and adapted the following recipe to use for cut-out cookie baking acitivty with my granddaughters. I use less sugar since we frost each one. Again, most of the time I'm baking for others, therefore I try to use the freshest, organic ingrediants I can find. Cheers!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions:
- Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl and use an electric hand mixer) and beat until creamy and well-combined.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until completely combined.
- Combine the dry ingrediants in one bowl.
- Gradually add dry ingredients into wet until completely combined.
- Divide into two rolls or flat discs, cover airtight and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
- Once dough has finished chilling, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Generously dust a clean surface with flour (or powdered sugar). Take 1/2 of dough and lightly flour and roll out to 1/8" to 1/4" thick.
- Use cookie cutters (I flour cutter occasionally so tight corners do not stick) to cut out shapes and use a spatula to transfer shapes to prepared baking sheet.
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 9-10 minutes, or until edges just begin to turn lightly golden brown.
- Cool cookies completely either on cookie sheet or wire cooling rack before moving and frosting.
Tips and Ideas
* Most of the kids in my neighborhood knew how to bake TOLL HOUSE® cookies (chocolate chip cookies). Although it didn't rain much where I grew up, this was always a good rainy day activity. I find here in Sweden we have a version of chocolate chips that work just fine in the Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that you can find online. BTW...you can substitue M&M's for chocolate chips. I just add the two together and the kids love them! Just remember to reduce the sugar, .
* When I travel I actively look for local kitchen accessory shops to see what gadgets I can add to my collection. This includes cookie cutters. I have a fairly large collection that my granddaughters love to take out each time we are making rolled cookies of any kind. This can be fun and stressful since we don't make enough dough to use every cutter. They have to decide which ones will be used and how many they will make. Either way, all the cutters usually need to be washed because they have touched each one! Tip: if you don't have time or space, don't purchase more cutters then you need!
* I absolutely love Sweden for their traditional cookies! You can Google Swedish cookies and you will find several great recipes. If you are adventurous, Google "svensk kakor recept", and you will find many delicious recipes in Swedish.
* There are those days when I've been requested to make cookies and my mind is occupied somewhere else. This is when the cookie dough ends up in a long cake form and we have cookie bars for FIKA (Swedish coffee break). Cheers!