St. Patrick's Day was almost a month ago, but I wasn't able to post this year's cookies. There were two sick children and a family wedding that stood in my way. But I say, better late than never!
After admiring some amazing sugar cookies on various sites like Bake at 350 and The Decorated Cookie, I decided to try my hand at some decorated sugar cookies. These Pot O'Gold Cookies by Sugar Belle to be exact.
There are a ton of imperfections, but the whole process proved to be quite fulfilling artistically. I may just be hooked….
When my husband saw these cookies, he asked, "Where did you get that cookie cutter from?" Well, thanks to the cookie genius known as Sweet Sugar Belle, creating custom cookie cutters from your prexisting stash is easy.
Here's a link to Sugar Belle's clear tutorial for creating these pot o' gold cookies.
I used three separate cookie cutters: A large circle cutter (about five inches in diameter), a cloud cutter (with a two inch diameter), and a small circle (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter).
I didn't have a cloud cutter, so using the idea from Sugar Belle's post, I squashed a mini-flower cutter creating an instant cloud shape.
Here's what I did:
1- After rolling out the dough, I cut out the following shapes: one large circle, one small circle, and one cloud.
2 – Then I cut out a portion of the large circle with the cloud cutter as shown below.
3 – I did the same on the other side of the large circle, but this time with the small circle cutter.
4 – Then I just fit the three shapes together and baked them off.
And there you have your own custom cookie shape!
Before I share the recipe, I feel the need to add a disclaimer to the above photos with the silicone baking mat. I didn't actually cut anything on my silicone mat. The photo was taken for instructional purposes only. Never use any sharp objects on a silicone baking mat! If the mat is cut, it will expose sharp fibers, rendering the mat unusable. Which, unfortunately I've actually done. Thankfully I didn't hurt myself, but I did feel quite a bit of pain when I had to toss my twenty-dollar baking mat into the garbage!
Sugar Cookies
Adapted from The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Instructions:
1 – In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2 – In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
3 – In a separate bowl, crack the egg and beat it with the vanilla extract.
4 – Add the egg mixture to the butter and sugar. Mix until combined.
5 – On low speed, add the dry ingredients to the wet ones.
6 – Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes. There's no need to refrigerate the dough. Roll it out to a 1/4 inch thickness, and cut out desired shapes.
7 – Bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for eight minutes. Rotate the pans at four minutes.
Yields about 2 to 2 1/2 dozen three-inch cookies.
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