Ingredients for Brown Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 1⁄2 tsp vanilla ext
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder 1⁄2 tsp salt
Ingredients for Buttercream
- 1 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1 1/4 cup Crisco shortening
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 2lb bag of confectioners’ powdered sugar (white powdered sugar) or about 7 1/2 cups
- 4 to 5 tablespoons milk
- 4 to 5 tablespoons milk *no substitutions on butter*
Directions for Brown Sugar Cookies
1. Cream butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg together.
2. Mix dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, and salt in separate bowl.
3. Add dry ingredients to your wet ingredients. Mix until the cookie mix becomes dough and it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Remove dough from bowl and wrap in saran plastic, and place in fridge for 10 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 375.
6. Flour your surface and roll dough out to 1⁄4 inch thick. Cut your cookies out.
7. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes or just when the cookie puffs up. The bottom may be slightly browned but they will still be nice and soft.
8. Once baked, let sit for one minute on the cookie sheet to firm up. Transfer to a cooling rack.
Directions for Buttercream
1. Cream your butter and shortening until well incorporated. If you don’t want your buttercream to crust over you can use all butter instead of shortening. Both must be at room temperature to prevent clumping.
2. Once creamed, add your vanilla and mix again.
3. Slowly add in your powdered sugar. Once you mix in all your powdered sugar, slowly add in your milk. The amount of milk will depend on humidity and weather. Add slowly, you can always add more but not take out.
4. Mix until smooth, maybe 30-60 seconds on medium speed. Be sure not to over-whip your buttercream. Normally a buttercream recipe says to whip until light and fluffy, you don't want to do that for this recipe.
5. After piping your buttercream, allow 6-8 hours to dry before stacking. This allows the buttercream to form a crust.
6. Store unused buttercream in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
More Poinsettia cookie decorating details:
Using the large leaf tip 366, have the “beak" pointing down (that’s what I call it) Gently squeeze the buttercream so it billows out the sides and slowly start to pull back for each petal. Stop squeezing where you want the petal to end. Continue around your cookie for about 6 petals. Make sure to leave an opening for the small petals in the center. When you pipe your small petals, you will want to gently squeeze about 5 tiny petals to complete your flower. Place 5 or 6 sugar pearls in the center of your flower
More Holly cookie decorating details:
Outline your cookie with buttercream using tip 5, don’t go to the very edge. Leave a little space so you can see that beautiful cookie under there. Fill in your cookie horizontally piping back and forth with your piping bag at an angle. If you hold it straight up and down it won’t look right. Once you are finished, draw the vein of the holly leaf down. Finish off your cookie with the deep red holly berries using tip 12.
SUPPLY LIST:
· 3 inch round cookie cutter
· Holly cookie cutter
· No-taste red gel paste- Wilton brand
· White icing color- Wilton Brand
· Green gel paste- Wilton brand
· Tip 366
· Tip 352
· Tip 5
· Tip 12