THE FESTIVAL CARNET
Christmas Sugar Cookies with Creamy Icing
Vanilla sugar cookies cut into circles or stars, covered with a fine ivory butter cream by the spoon and kept cool without stacking.
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Vanilla sugar cookies cut into circles or stars, covered with a fine ivory butter cream by the spoon and kept cool without stacking. This version is designed for a home kitchen, with weighed quantities and visual cues. Prepare the ingredients before starting and reserve the indicated cooling time: it is part of the recipe.
Read the whole steps before working on the dough. The durations remain indicative; a raised dough must actually swell, a cookie must cool before being handled and a wet filling requires a cool storage.
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The preparation step by step
Weighing and preparing the plate
Weigh 250 g of flour, 120 g of butter and 100 g of sugar in three bowls. Cover two baking paper baking tray. Take a roll and the indicated cookie cutters. The dough must be ready before turning on the oven, because its cool rest is essential.
Work the butter without melting it
Cut the 120 g of soft butter into cubes. Mix it with the 100 g of sugar spatula for 2 minutes: the preparation becomes creamy. Do not heat the butter to the point of liquefying it, otherwise the dough would spread more during cooking.
Add egg and aromas
Casse 1 medium egg in a small bowl, check that there is no shell left and beat with a fork. Stir in butter cream twice. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to distribute the aromas and avoid an unscented part of the dough.
Gathering without working too hard
Pour the 250 g of flour. Mix with the spatula and then bring the crumbs together with the hands. Stop as soon as the dough stands: do not knead it like a brioche. If it sticks a lot, use a sheet of baking paper rather than a handful of flour in addition.
Firming the dough
Flatten the dough into a disc 2 cm thick, pack and refrigerate 1 hour. This rest facilitates a clean cut. If it becomes very hard, wait 5 minutes at room temperature before spreading it; do not force it with the roller to the point of breaking it.
Roll to an even thickness
Lay the dough between two sheets of baking paper and roll to 6 mm thick. Moves the roller from the center to the edges. Check several places: a thin leaf on one side and thick on the other would give cookies cooked unevenly.
Cut out the forms
Cut 24 round or 5 cm stars. Collect the offcuts only once, without working on them for a long time. Place the shapes on the plates keeping 2 cm between them. Place each plate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm the dough.
Prepare oven and finish before cooking
Preheat the oven to 175 °C in conventional oven setting (no fan). Keep the icing ingredients for after cooling: do not decorate a raw dough with this finish.
Cook one baking tray at a time
Bake at mid-height for 12 to 15 minutes at 175 °C. The edges should be barely colored and the center taken, without strongly browning. Turn the baking tray if your oven only colors one side. A subsequent plate that is still cold may take a minute more.
Let the cookies firm up
Go out with oven gloves and wait 5 minutes on the plate. Then move the cookies on a rack with a flat spatula: they break more easily when they are hot. Wait at least 30 minutes before any icing or storage.
Finish without multiplying the sets
Whisk 60 g of finishing butter with 120 g of icing sugar. Add 10 ml of milk and half a teaspoon of vanilla. Spread a thin layer with the back of a spoon on the completely cold cookies. The frosting remains creamy: keep the cookies in a single layer and keep them cool.
Range without stacking
Butter frosting remains creamy: does not try to dry it like a royal ice cream. Place the cookies in a single layer in a closed box in the refrigerator. Take out only the quantity to be served, about 15 minutes in advance.
Conservation. Keep cookies garnished for 2 days in the refrigerator, in a single layer. Unfilled biscuits can be stored for up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not stack creamy surfaces.
Recipe proposal with quantities and step by step. Times vary depending on the material: follow also the markers of texture and cooking.
The benchmarks for success
Respect the texture
Stop mixing, lifting or cooking at the mark described in the step by step. The indicated time remains an estimate: the temperature of the room and the power of the oven can change it.
Packs only cold
Let the indicated cooling finish before stowing. A box closed too early traps the steam and softens the surface.
Questions Before You Start
How much cream should I put on each cookie?
Spread the cream between the 24 cookies, in a thin layer, with the back of a spoon. Keep spoon traces simple and avoids thick reliefs that would crash during transport.
Does frosting become hard?
Nope. This is a butter cream, not a royal ice cream. It keeps a soft texture; transports the cookies flat and keeps them cool.
Can I prepare the cookies before the cream?
Yeah. Cook the biscuits the day before, let them cool and then store them without filling. Spread the frosting on the cold biscuits at the time of finishing.
Baking tips for this recipe
- Work the dough just enough to combine the ingredients after adding flour; avoid prolonged kneading.
- Respect the temperature of the butter and the indicated rest. If a cutting paste becomes sticky, cool it before shaping.
- Keep a regular thickness between pieces of the same batch and monitors the edges at the end of cooking. Let cool before garnishing.
Substitutions and variations
To replace a main ingredient, choose another sheet designed with the one you want to use. Changing the proportions of fat, sugar or liquid can change the hold of the dessert.
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