Olympic Gold Medal Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium for 3 minutes. Beat in the 2 beaten eggs and vanilla.
• Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture 1 cup at a time. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and flatten them into neat rectangles about 3/4-inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 3 hours.
• Set an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it soften for about 10 minutes. Roll it out on a lightly-floured piece of parchment to 3/16-inch thick. Cut out rounds with a 3- to 3 1/4-inch cookie cutter and arrange them on the prepared cookie sheets at least 1 1/2 inches apart. Repeat with the second piece of dough, rerolling and cutting the scraps as necessary.
• To make ring imprints on the cookies, press the rim of a small glass or bowl (about 2 1/2-inches wide) halfway into each dough round. Freeze the cookies on the cookie sheets for 20 minutes. (This will help the cookies hold their imprints.)
• Combine the remaining egg with 6 drops of yellow food coloring and 1 teaspoon water. Whisk together with a fork to make an egg wash.
• At the top of each cookie, use a wide straw or the tip of a sharp paring knife to cut a circle or rectangle wide enough to thread a ribbon through. Working with 2 to 3 cookies at a time, lightly brush the rounds with egg wash (avoid the imprint) and sprinkle with the sanding sugar. Lightly tap each cookie on the counter to shake off excess (the frozen dough will be sturdy enough to withstand this).
• Bake the cookies until set and the edges are beginning to brown, 14 to 18 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets once. Transfer the sheets to a baking rack and cool the cookies completely on the sheets. (If the holes for the ribbon have closed up a bit, just cut away some of the dough with a paring knife while the cookies are still warm).
• Thread a yard of ribbon through each cookie and tie the ends.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a small saucepan. Mix in the vanilla, remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 mins.
• Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Pour in the melted butter mixture and the egg, and stir together to form a stiff-ish dough. Pop the dough in the fridge for 10 mins to chill and firm up.
• Roll the dough out on a floured surface to 5mm thick, then stamp out 15 circles using a 7.5cm round cookie cutter; you may need to re-roll the trimmings to get 15 cookies. Make a hole at the top of each circle with the end of a pencil.
• Place on the baking trays and bake for 12 mins until golden, swapping the trays around halfway through. Cool on a wire rack. Decorate the cookies (see below), making sure the hole is at the top of each one. Will keep for 3 days in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium speed until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture all at once; beat on low speed until mixture comes together to form a dough.
• Turn dough out onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper; using a rolling pin, roll out to 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3 1/4- inch round cookie cutter and a 2-inch star cutter, cut out an equal number of rounds and stars. Remove scraps from around cutters as you work. Transfer parchment paper with the dough shapes to a baking sheet. On a lightly floured work surface, reroll scraps, and cut out shapes; transfer to baking sheet with other cookies. Place in refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
• Remove baking sheet from refrigerator, and arrange cookies so that they are at least 1/2 inch apart. Place in oven, and bake until edges are just starting to brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack; using the blunt end of a skewer, immediately poke a hole in top center of each round cookie for the ribbon, if desired. Let cool completely.
• Place 1/3 cup royal icing in a small bowl, and tint with the color you wish to use for piping dots; add water as needed, but keep it fairly thick. Divide remaining royal icing into two small bowls, and tint them the remaining two colors; add water, making these slightly thinner for covering cookies. Place each tinted icing in a piping bag fitted with an Ateco #3 round tip.
• Using the thinner icings, outline and fill in round cookies with one color; use the other color to outline and fill in the stars. Let iced cookies set, at least 1 hour. Pipe dots around edges of round cookies with thicker icing. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and shake off excess. Pipe a small dab of icing on the back of each star; attach stars to centers of round cookies. Let icing set, at least 1 hour. Thread thin ribbons through the poked holes and tie, if desired. Serve, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.