Colorful Cookies

Two Baking sheets (1/2 baking sheets) with baking mats (Silpats etc…) or parchment paper

Ingredients:

*1/4 cup Butter, room temperature

*4 ounces Cream Cheese, room temperature

*1 cup Sugar

*1 Egg

*2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

*1/4 teaspoon Almond Extract

*1 teaspoon Sea Salt

*3 and 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour

*1 teaspoon Baking Powder

*1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

*Gel Food Coloring of your Choice we used: Red and Black. Add a small amount at first and then add more as needed.

*Sugar Crystals or Wilton’s Sprinkles White Sparkling Sugar or Colorful Sugars/Sanding Sugars (We used Sugar Crystals and Red Sugar Sprinkles/Colorful Sugar, for rolling

Instructions:

Preheat oven 375*F.

Cream together in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, on medium speed cream the Butter, cream cheese and sugar until light yellow in color. Add the egg and mix until incorporated. Then mix in on low add the vanilla, almond and salt.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl. Slowly add to the wet mixture and mix just until combined.

Divide the cookie dough into 3 sections and add desired color to each dough ball. I left one dough ball plain for the white. Wear food safe disposable vinyl gloves so that the food coloring won’t dye your hands. Refrigerate for 30 minutes if desired to firm slightly, I used dough right away my kitchen was cool and my dough was to soft so adjust refrigerated time as needed.

Roll each dough color into “snakes” about 1 inch wide then as long as the 1 inch thickness will allow. Then cut each snake in half and then into 2 inch pieces. Lay each 2 inch piece (Black) of dough next to another 2 inch color (Red) and then the (white) 2 inch color. You could try to add another color but 2 to 3 colors seemed to be just enough. See below pictures more visual instructions.

Stretch the combined “snake rolls” slightly, then twist them two times in the same direction and then roll into balls and then roll into the sugars of choice. Press cookie slightly on to cookie sheet or for football shape, place cookie football cutter on baking sheet and press dough lightly into the football cookie cutter. Repeat for each cookie. Place 4 to 6 for (1/4 baking sheet) 9 cookies on 1/2 baking sheet depending on the size of baking sheet you use and the size of cookies. Cool slightly, best eaten when warm.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly brown on the bottom.

Recipe adapted from Molly Yeh Tie-Dye Cookies

Also See Football Bash

Enjoy!

Lindy

Sugar Cookie Recipe

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Ingredients:

*
*1/2 cup Butter

*1 cup Sugar

*1 teaspoon Vanilla

*1 Egg

*1/2 cup Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream, Sour Cream or Cream Cheese (I’ve used each one of these variation each gives the cookie a slightly different taste and they’re all yummy!) Note: If you use cream cheese use only 3 cups of flour

*3 and 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour, more if needed (Dough should be slightly sticky)

*1 teaspoon Soda

*1/2 teaspoon Salt

*Round and Football shaped Cookie Cutters. The number of cookies this recipe makes will depend on the size of cookie cutter you use.

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In a stand mixer on medium-low speed cream together the butter and sugar. Then add the vanilla, egg and cream of your choice and mix just until combined.

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Using Sifter, sift together in a bowl the flour soda and salt and slowly add to the creamed mixture, mixing on low just until barely combined. Dough should be slightly sticky. Do Not Over Mix!

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Then divide the dough into 3 dough balls, flatten dough balls making disk shapes. Now wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or more.

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Remove 1 dough disk at a time from the refrigerator and rollout disk on a floured surface with rolling-pin or use 2 pieces of plastic wrap, placing the dough disk in the center of 1 of the pieces of plastic wrap and the second piece on top of the dough disk, use rolling-pin and roll out the cookie dough about 1/2 inch thick.

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Use a cookie cutter of your choice and cut out shapes in the rolled out dough. Repeat for each dough disk. Then add to the next dough disk the scraps from the first disk or (discard scraps of dough), continue this technic until all the dough is used.
Place cookies on a Silpat covered half baking sheet, 12 cookies per sheet.  For best results refrigerate the cut cookies on baking sheet before baking 5-10 minutes.

*
Bake the cookies in a pre-heated 425* F. oven for 8-12 minutes or barely starting to turn golden on the bottom; baking time depends on the size of cookie cutter used. Do Not Over Bake! If you do over bake they will become too hard. Cool on baking sheet.

Recipe from Tested Recipes Cookbook, Central Milling Company third edition, now out of print an old family cookbook2 ounces Cream Cheese

Frosting

1/4 cup or 2 ounces Cream Cheese

2 and 1/4 sticks butter, almost room temperature

6 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

Pinch of sea salt or to taste

Food Colorings Green and Brown

Piping bags with closed star tip and small hole piping tip.

Directions:

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment beat the butter and cream cheese 2 to 3 minutes until a light yellow color on medium speed.

Then gradually add powdered sugar alternate with whipping cream, mixing in on medium low speed.

Add vanilla and salt, taste and adjust as needed to your taste. Beat frosting another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer and stir for a minute to remove air bubbles.

Divide frosting into 3 bowls for Green, Brown and White. Start with a few drops of coloring and add more until desired colors are achieved.

Also See Football Bash

Enjoy!

Lindy