Back to Basics: Shortbread Cutout Cookies

By Kelly Bogard

House cleaned from Thanksgiving feast…check. Christmas decorations up…check. Plate of warm cookies for those who helped…still working on it. There’s nothing better than walking into the kitchen to the smell of fresh-baked cookies. It’s one of the many things I look forward to this time of year.

Whether it is Cinnamon Jumbles or Rosemary Cookies, baking cookies smell pretty much the same to me–AMAZING!

For Back to Basics: Shortbread Cutout Cookies, you will need…
2 ½ cups flour
1 ½ cups butter, softened
1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. almond extract
colored sugars

With these cookies, you can let the creative juices flow. You want dinosaur cookies to leave out for Santa? Go ahead. The possibilities are endless.

First, in a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and almond extract using an electric mixer. Make sure to blend enough to get fluffy, but not so much as to melt the butter.

Then, slowly add in the flour to combine. Once everything is mixed well, cover and chill for at least two hours in the refrigerator.

Once chilled, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface using a floured rolling pin. Spread evenly without sticking. You want it to be about one-quarter inch thick. While rolling everything out, be sure to preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Dip your selected cookie cutters in a little bit of flour and cut out the desired shapes. Be sure to re-flour the cutters and re-roll the leftover dough as needed.

Move the cutouts to a cookie sheet and sprinkle with the colored sugar.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for five minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

These cookies are super kid-friendly, not only to make, but also to eat. I hope your holiday cooking gets off to a great start. From all of us at Texas Table Top, enjoy!

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