This is the recipe that I used for my home cookie business from 2014-2017. Warning, the cookies are addictive, or so I've been told. Measuring the ingredients by weight is recommended.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, OR *see below.
- 13 oz (2 cups) sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 to 1 tsp baking powder (use less if you don't want them to puff up too much)
- 480g or 17 oz (4 cups) all-purpose flour
- In large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter, shortening (if using) and sugar until creamy. Add salt and vanilla and mix.
- Add the eggs and beat until combined.
- Add the flour and baking powder. With the mixer at medium-low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture just until blended.
- Gather the dough into a ball and divide it into fourths. Roll each portion to 3/8 inch thickness between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper
- Refrigerate or freeze until the dough is cold, can be overnight.
- Cookie dough can be also be tightly wrapped (airtight) and frozen for up to a few months.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Get out the cookie cutters.
- Remove chilled dough from refrigerator and cut the dough into as many shapes as possible. Arrange on a prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart. Gather the scraps of dough together and re-roll and cut more cookies. The cookies can be decorated now with sprinkles, or you can wait to add frosting/icing after baking. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bake for 14-15 minutes (depends on the size of the cookies) until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges on the bottom. With a spatula, transfer the baked cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
- Frost with royal icing, cookie icing, or whatever frosting you like.
- Store in a tightly covered container, separating and cushioning the layers with sheets of waxed paper.
*You can substitute below for the 2 sticks of butter:
1 stick (4 oz) butter and 4 oz vegetable shortening, at room temperature
Large recipe (1.5 times batch):
2 sticks butter (8 oz.)
4 oz shortening or butter
18 oz sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
700 - 750 g all purpose flour
Royal Icing Double Batch:
2 Tbsp meringue powder (or 2 egg whites)
1/4 cup water plus extra for adjusting consistency
1 tsp clear or regular vanilla extract
500 g sifted powdered sugar (this is approximately 1 lb.)
Large recipe (1.5 times batch):
2 sticks butter (8 oz.)
4 oz shortening or butter
18 oz sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
700 - 750 g all purpose flour
Royal Icing Double Batch:
2 Tbsp meringue powder (or 2 egg whites)
1/4 cup water plus extra for adjusting consistency
1 tsp clear or regular vanilla extract
500 g sifted powdered sugar (this is approximately 1 lb.)
Mix the meringue powder with the water, add the extract, beat with a power mixer. Add the powdered sugar and start beating with the power mixer. Make sure there's no big lumps in the powdered sugar. The mixture will be dry, so add water little by little until it is a stiff but not dry consistency. I use a spray bottle to add the water. Now beat it for at least 5 minutes, until the icing is white and has a fluffy consistency. Store with plastic wrap over the top to prevent drying out, in a airtight container.
