Holiday Swirled Sugar Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat granulated sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight until firm.
• 2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface* to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into shapes with favorite cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheets.
• 3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
• 4. For the Icing, mix all ingredients except food colors. (Stir in additional milk to thin icing or more confectioners' sugar to thicken, if needed). Place small amount of icing into small shallow bowls, using one bowl for each color desired. Stir drops of food color into icing until desired shade is reached.
• 5. To ice cookies, hold cookie by its edge and dip top of cookie into icing. (Or spoon the icing onto cookie using a teaspoon.) Place iced cookies on wire rack set over foil-covered baking sheet to dry. (The foil-covered baking sheet will catch drips.) To add decorative details to cookies, spoon tinted icing into resealable plastic bag. Snip off a tiny piece of the corner. Squeeze icing through hole in plastic bag to decorate cookies. If desired, Colored Sugar may be sprinkled onto freshly iced cookies.
• For the variations below, omit the cinnamon and the nutmeg. Use the following extract in place of the vanilla extract in the cookies:
• Almond Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Almond Extract.
• Orange Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Orange Extract.
• Lemon Holiday Sugar Cookies: Use 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Lemon Extract.

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat softened butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and the vanilla with spoon until well mixed. Stir in flour until blended. Knead 5 to 10 times or until dough is smooth.
• Divide dough into 3 pieces. Place 2 pieces of dough into 2 small bowls. To one bowl, add green food color; stir or knead to mix color thoroughly into dough. Repeat with red food color and second piece of dough.
• Cut each of the 3 doughs in half. Take one half of each of the doughs, and press together into a ball. Gently knead to mix colors (don't overwork dough or it will lose marbling). Shape into a roll, 6 inches long by 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Spread 1 tablespoon sparkling sugar on plastic wrap; roll log to cover. Wrap dough log tightly with plastic wrap. Repeat forming, shaping and rolling with remaining dough pieces. Refrigerate about 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Unwrap 1 of the dough logs; cut into 1/2-inch slices. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet, reshaping if necessary.
• Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are set. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Unwrap remaining dough log, and repeat slicing and baking. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store covered in airtight container.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon peel and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Shape into three 10-in. rolls; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm., Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks., In a large bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, milk and food coloring until smooth; transfer to a resealable plastic bag; drizzle over cookies in the shape of a Christmas tree. Place one Red Hot at the top of each tree.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Mix in egg, vanilla, and salt.
• Mix in flour.
• Make the dough into a ball and cut into two halves.
• Add food coloring to one half of the dough, working it in until evenly mixed.
• On a large cutting board covered in plastic wrap, use a rolling pin to roll out each piece of dough to make two 12x9-inch (30x22-cm) rectangles. Tip: Place wax paper over the dough while rolling to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin.
• Take the colored dough rectangle and place it over the other regular dough rectangle.
• Use the plastic wrap under the regular dough rectangle to help you roll the two rectangles up.
• Fill a flat dish or baking pan with sprinkles. Roll the dough around it until the outside is completely coated.
• Chill for at least 4 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Cut the dough into ¼-inch (6-mm) slices and place them on a cookie sheet.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, until blonde.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Using the electric mixer, mix the butter and the sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and the salt, and mix well. Beat in milk and vanilla. Add flour a little at a time, mixing it in until all of it has been incorporated.
• Divide the dough into balls, one for each color. For chocolate dough, add cocoa (1/4 cup is enough to flavor half a batch). Mix well with electric mixer. For colored dough, start with 1/4 teaspoon food coloring, and mix well. Add more in tiny amounts for darker colors. Gel-paste coloring can be intense, so add it gradually.
• Wrap each ball of dough in its own sheet of plastic wrap; pat flat into a rectangle. Refrigerate at least one hour or until ready to use.
• Parchment or waxed paper makes a good work surface. Sprinkle generously with flour, then roll out each piece of dough 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick to make the swirls; you can use thicker layers for the bull's-eyes.
• The bench scraper is a good tool for trimming dough's edges to make them even. The egg white, brushed on with a pastry brush, will act as a glue, making the layers stick together.
• For center, with your hands, roll chocolate dough into a 1/2- to 1 1/2- inch-thick rod; chill 20 minutes. Place rod on edge of rolled-out dough that's been brushed with egg white.
• Roll rod inside sheet of dough. Cut the dough where it meets up. Seal by pinching and pressing gently. Chill 20 minutes, then repeat to add other layers. To decorate, go to step 7, or jump to step 8 for plain.
• For spirals, measure and trim two or more colors of dough to same size. Brush on egg white, then stack layers. Brush top with egg white. Starting at one end, roll up the dough.
• Smooth and straighten the layers as you roll them so there are no gaps, then gently pinch and press the edge of the roll to seal it. Now the dough is ready to decorate. If you want plain cookies, skip to step 18.
• Add your favorite toppings (try coconut, colored sanding sugar, chopped nuts, or chocolate sprinkles): Spread topping in baking sheet, brush dough with egg white, and roll the log in topping.
• Roll each log in parchment or waxed paper; twist the ends of the paper closed. To help the logs keep their round shape, set each in a cardboard paper-towel roll that you have sliced open lengthwise.
• To remember what colors you have already used, with crayons, draw the designs onto key tags; tie the tags onto the paper covering the logs. Chill logs until they are solid, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Cut 15 inches of dental floss (or double thickness of thread). Let log soften for about 10 minutes. Remove parchment. Wrap floss around log and pull through. Make the slices thin: 1/4 inch or less.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place slices on an ungreased baking sheet (lined with parchment paper). A grown-up should bake the cookies 12 to 15 minutes, until firm but not browned. Let cool on baking sheet for several minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Steps:

• For cookies:
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a mixer, beat shortening until soft. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually mix in the flour. Remove half of the dough, leaving the remaining in the mixer. Add a couple of drops of food coloring to the dough in the mixer, until the desired color is achieved and beat until combined. Form each half of the dough into disks and wrap in plastic film. Chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out cookies with cookie cutters. Transfer to an ungreased cookie sheet and bake until firm, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
• For frosting:
• In a mixer, beat butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. If frosting is too thick, add more milk, a very small amount at a time. Divide frosting into several small bowls. Add a different color of food coloring to the frosting in each bowl. Glaze each cookie with a different color frosting.