Savory Christmas Cutouts Recipes

Steps:

• Cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Shape into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll, 2-3 hours., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-in. cookie cutters. Place on ungreased baking sheets., Bake until edges begin to brown, 7-8 minutes. Remove from pan to wire racks; cool completely. , For frosting, beat confectioners' sugar, butter, vanilla and enough milk to reach desired consistency; tint with food coloring if desired. Spread over cookies. Decorate as desired.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, sugar, yeast, lemon zest and salt. In a small saucepan, heat milk and water to 120°-130°. Stir in oil and lemon juice. Add to dry ingredients; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat 4 ounces cream cheese until smooth. Add the mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, lemon pepper and parsley; mix well. Stir in crabmeat if desired; set aside. , Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; roll out into a 22x14-in. rectangle. Spread prepared filling to within 1/2-in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal. Cut into 22 slices., Cover a baking sheet with foil and grease well. Place 1 slice near the top center of prepared baking sheet. Place 2 slices in the second row with sides touching. Repeat, adding 1 slice per row, until tree has 5 rows. Repeat last row. Center remaining 2 slices below last row for the trunk. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Bake at 325° until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Carefully transfer rolls with foil onto a wire rack to cool completely., Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat remaining cream cheese and lemon juice until smooth. Cut a small hole in the corner of pastry bag; fill with cream cheese mixture. Pipe onto rolls for garland. , Cut peppers in half vertically; remove stems and seeds. Using a 1-1/2-in. star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out stars from peppers; place on tree. Carefully remove a 2-in. piece of peel from lemon (save lemon for another use). With a 2-in. star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out a star from peel; place on top of tree. Remove foil before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• For cookies:
• Sift first 3 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar in large bowl to blend well. Add egg, sour cream, and vanilla; beat 1 minute. Beat in dry ingredients in 2 additions until just blended. Gather dough together; divide in half. Flatten each half into disk; wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Soften dough slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Sprinkle work surface and top of dough disks with additional sugar. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness (dough will be very soft). Using assorted 2- to 3-inch cookie cutters, cut out cookies. Transfer to prepared sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather scraps and roll out on sugared surface; cut out more cookies. Repeat until all dough is used. Chill all cookies on baking sheets at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until light golden at edges, about 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.
• For icing:
• Combine 4 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and vanilla in medium bowl. Stir until icing is well blended, smooth, and spreadable, adding more milk by teaspoonfuls if too thick or more sugar by tablespoonfuls if too thin. Using small icing spatula or table knife, spread thin layer of icing atop each cookie. If using colored sugar crystals, sprinkle over cookies before icing sets. If using food-safe colored markers, let icing dry about 30 minutes; decorate cookies as desired. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature.)
• *The Bon Appetit test-kitchen staff used food-safe colored markers, called FooDoodler pens, to decorate these cookies. The markers are available at Sur La Table stores or can be ordered from King Arthur Flour (800-827-6836) or bakerscatalogue.com.