06/21/2010

Irene B from Hopatcong, NJ

These cookies are great. They were easy to make and they taste really good. I have been making cookies for a very long time and these are some of the best I've ever baked. I took them to a party and they went over very well. My 11 month old grandson loved them. I am always looking for cookies to make and take to events and for Christmas and these are winners. I even had to refer the recipe to some people. I have never baked cookies with confectionary sugar instead of granulated sugar but the texture was different but in a nice way.

04/04/2010

Nel from Poland

I highly recommend this recipe! It is the cut-out cookie recipe that I've been looking for. I always hated cut-out cookies from childhood, because they looked so good, but tasted so bland and were so hard - even the icing wasn't tasty. Waste of time. But THESE! Oh, YUM! I followed the directions exactly, and followed the tip to weigh the ingredients. I think I would have had about 2/3 of a cup too much powdered sugar if I hadn't weighed the ingredients (I have no idea why.) The dough was almost a batter - very light. I knew it was going to make a light, tender cookie. If the batter looks dry, just do what the recipe says and keep beating (I used the dough hooks on a hand mixer). Soon you'll have a light, almost fluffy buttery dough. The Fioria di Sicilia makes this recipe: it's subtle, but wonderful. Use the best-quality butter you can get, because these are a buttery-flavored cookie. I added the extra salt since unsalted butter is 'default' in my country, and the extra salt really brings out the butter flavor (in these as well as in Snickerdoodles made with unsalted butter). I didn't really have trouble rolling them out; I thought I would from the comments (and experience). I used a mixture of flour and powdered sugar, sifted over the table with my sifter. I didn't really have any trouble transferring them, though the dough did tend to 'break' along the edges and in the middle as I rolled it out. Maybe a flatter disk would help the dough come to a uniform temperature for rolling: the cold center tended to break. But that didn't interfere with being able to cut out the cookies. I LOVE that this dough is truly re-rollable. One thing I hated about rolled-and-cut cookies is that the re-rolled dough was tough as shoe-leather. This dough remains tender and even sometimes looked 'flaky' like pie-crust when I was rolling it for the second or third time. Great flavor; great dough to work with; great texture in the cookies - five stars all the way. For icing, I used the 'real' egg white (not powdered) recipe linked on the Easter cookies entry on the blog. It made an icing that needed to be thinned a bit with lemon juice for 'flooding' the cookies to get a smooth surface. I added a drop or two of lemon extract, and it was delicious. I can't imagine using buttercream on these cookies as someone said - way too rich with such a buttery cookie. The icings recommended are actually delicious (not the flavorless laquer of my childhood). I consider this to be the PERFECT rolled-and-decorated cookie recipe. I can't wait to try all-white cookies come Christmastime, after doing the 'pysanki' egg-style cookies this Easter.

03/24/2010

Nonnie from Round Rock, TX

I suggest you invest in a good, digital kitchen scale and weigh ingredients before adding to the recipe. I used to do the "scoop, lift and level" method of measuring flour and sugar, but after I got a digital scale, I discovered that I was often off by 1/4 to 1/2 ounce! That being said, these cookies are wonderful! Instead of using flour to roll out the chilled dough, I used a dusting of powdered sugar on parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper, roll out the dough, remove the top layer of parchment paper, dust the dough with powered sugar, replace the parchment and roll to final thickness. I then place the dough, sandwiched between parchment, on a cookie sheet and pop in the freezer for several minutes to "firm up" before cutting. That makes the transfer from parchment to cookie sheet really easy. I love to bake, especially cookies that my grandchildren can decorate, and these are a huge hit in my kitchen! Thanks again for a great recipe.

01/08/2010

Marie from Atlanta

Really good. The only change I made was to decrease the flour to only 2 and 1/4th cups. I had no problem with the dough. I refrigerated it for about 2 hours and it rolled beautifully. The cookies kept their shape pretty well. Maybe next time I'll refrigerate the dough longer and they'll hold their shape better? A little puffed/spread but nothing major. Delicious taste. Different than your traditional rolled sugar cookie but that's why I like them.

01/01/2010

Deb from Pewaukee, WI

These cookies are fantastic. I've never been able to find a sugar cookie recipe that I liked - these are perfect. Different than a typical sugar cookie, I love the texture of these. The dough was wonderful, cutouts held their shape beautifully - and the taste fantastic! My cat is in love with them for their wonderful buttery smell and taste!!

12/29/2009

carol from nj

Amazingly good cookies! For those who had trouble with dry dough, it's important to weigh the flour rather than measuring it. I followed the recipe exactly and the results were excellent. This is my new favorite roll out cookie recipe.

12/23/2009

Jane from Chilmark, MA

The. Best. Sugar. Cookie. Ever.

12/22/2009

Amanda from Colorado

The dough didn't seem too dry to me, even after being in the freezer a few days. As with any recipe, I think it's necessary to use your own judgment as to whether you need to add fat/liquid to make the dough more pliable. But I also weighed out my ingredients in grams so I'm sure that helped. I also tried rolling out the dough both with flour, as in the recipe, and between sheets of waxed paper, as some reviewers recommended. My dough stuck a bit to the waxed paper, so I preferred flouring my KA silicone sheet. Even flouring the sheet didn't add too much flour to the recipe. Some of my cookies overbrowned (I always try to set my timer for less than the recipe calls for, just in case; forgot to do it this time) but they still taste fabulous, which I have to say is a mark of a good recipe and reason for my 5 stars. Regarding the icing, I didn't have any corn syrup and so subbed agave nectar. I decreased the amount by about 1/3 since agave is sweeter than corn syrup and increased the milk till I got the consistency I wanted. I left the cookies out overnight and the icing still dried hard, which was my one concern with the substitute. Will use again for other cutout cookies.

12/20/2009

candice from los angeles

Instead of flouring, I used two sheets of wax paper, which was helpful! My boyfriend calls me the Swedish Chef because I get flour everywhere, so the wax paper is a great trick to pick up. These are great! This is my first time making christmas cookies ahead of time for gifts. Will they be ok in a few layers of plastic wrap in the freezer?
Yes, butter cookies freeze well. Have fun. I'm sure everyone will enjoy them. Mary@ KAF

12/19/2009

Cassie from Lebanon, IN

Like a couple of the other reviewers, I also had problems with this dough being dry and crumbling when I attempted to roll it. I warmed it in the microwave as advised, but it was still very difficult to work with. Once I worked with it long enough, I finally just decided to use some simple smaller cookie cutters so that they won't crumble on the way to the sheets. So with all of that I was seriously hopefully for a delicious little butter cookie and guess what I got...a DELICIOUS LITTLE BUTTER COOKIE. These turned out with just the right amount of butter taste and the Fiori gave them just a touch of citrus flavor that was also very pleasing to the palate. I loved the end result, but how can I make the dough more manageable next time? br/> When your cookie dough seems too dry try adding just a little more butter-maybe a tablespoon-will make a difference. Joan D@bakershotline