Alphabet Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Whisk together flour and salt in a small bowl.
• Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or 6 minutes with a handheld, then beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
• Form dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) into an 81/2-inch round (1/4 inch thick) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, rewrap in plastic and chill until firm.) Cut out as many cookies as possible from dough with cutters and transfer to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging about 1 inch apart.
• Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely.
• Gather scraps and chill until dough is firm enough to reroll, 10 to 15 minutes. Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll only once) in same manner on cooled baking sheets.
• For each color (you can make up to 7), transfer 1/4 cup icing to a separate small bowl and tint with food coloring. Snip off 1 corner of each plastic bag to create a 1/4-inch opening, then spoon each color icing into a bag, pressing out excess air. Twist each bag firmly just above icing, then decoratively pipe (or spread) colored icing onto cookies. Let icing dry completely (about 1 hour, depending on humidity) before storing cookies.
• *Wilton Paste Food Coloring available at wilton.com.
• **Available at some bakeware shops and Sweet Celebrations (800-328-6722).

Steps:

• Combine flour,baking powder and sugar.
• Cut in butter till mixture resembles breadcrumbs.(You can do this in food processor).
• Add vanilla and egg.Work to a dough and shape a ball.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to get hard enough to roll.
• Then make small balls of dough.
• Roll into thin cylinders, make letters of the alphabet, twisting the dough and trimming it as necessary.
• Arrange on a greased cookie sheet,leaving a little space between them.
• Bake at 180 C for about 10 - 12 minutes.
• Remove them from the oven as soon as the edges of cookies turn golden.
• Leave on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes to cool a bit,then delicately detatch them from the sheet.
• Leave to cool on a wire-rack.
• Topping:.
• =======.
• Drizzle melted chocolate / chocolate sauce OR spread lemon icing on the top of the cookies OR dip the top in melted chocolate.
• Sprinkle desicated coconut / chopped nuts.
• Leave to set.

Steps:

• Into a medium bowl, sift together graham flour, whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on low speed for 1 minute. Add honey and vanilla, and beat to combine. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour.
• Divide the dough into thirds, and roll each third to a 1/8-inch thickness between two sheets of parchment paper. Stack the dough on a baking sheet, and freeze for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper. Remove 1/3 of the dough from freezer. Gently remove top sheet of parchment paper. Flip package onto a prepared baking sheet. Peel off and discard the remaining piece of parchment paper. Cut out cookies using 3-inch alphabet cutters. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets. Re-roll and cut any dough scraps between parchment paper. Bake until lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely.