Sugar cookies remind me of the holidays! My favorite thing about them is that you can decorate them however you like to complement the theme of the holiday. Get creative with different shaped cookie cutters and mix and match sprinkle colors. On Thanksgiving, dip your Turkey-shaped or pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies in milk chocolate and orange sprinkles. On Valentines Day, dazzle your heart shaped cookies with colors of red and pink. These cookies are like an art project and are especially fun to make with children.
Orly's Gluten Free Dazzling Sugar Cookies
Recipe Yields about 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
3 cups (390 grams) Blends by Orly London Blend
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Heat: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix: In a separate bowl whisk together the London Blend, salt, and baking soda. In the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add the dry mixture to the bowl and beat until the dough is smooth. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.
Roll & Shape: Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Flour your work surface with the gluten free London Blend to prevent the dough from sticking to your counter. Dust the top of the dough with London Blend so that it does not stick to your rolling pin and you pin out the dough. Continue turning the dough as you roll and adding flour as necessary to make sure the dough does not stick to the counter.
Cut out desired shapes using cookie cutters in whatever shape you want and transfer cookies to baking sheet. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking. Brush the tops of the dough with a light layer of egg white and sprinkle the unbaked cookies with sparkling sugar before baking. The egg white will help the sugar stick to the dough while baking and add a sheen to your cookies.
Bake cookies for about 10 minutes or until the edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes.