Cut-Out Cookies

Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson

Show: Nigella FeastsEpisode: Fun Food

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (41)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(41)

Cook Time:
12 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
25 to 30 cookies

Times:

Prep: 30 min
Inactive Prep: 1 hr 0 min
Cook: 12 min
Total:: 1 hr 42 min

Recipe Tools:

Select a Card Size

Add To My Recipe Box

Success

This recipe was added to your Folder_Name folder.

Do not show this message again

Add To My Recipe Box

Please sign in to add this recipe to your Recipe Box.

Ingredients

Cookies:

6 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Icing:

2 to 3 tablespoons just-boiled water
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
Food coloring, preferably pastes
Special equipment: cookie cutters

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and moving towards moussiness, then beat in the egg and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, and mix gently but surely. If you think the finished mixture is too sticky to be rolled out, add more flour, but do so sparingly as too much will make the dough tough. Form into a fat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Sprinkle a suitable surface with flour, place disk of dough on it, and sprinkle a little more flour on top of that. Then roll it out to a thickness of about 1/4-inch. Cut into shapes, dipping the cutter into flour as you go, and place the cookies a little apart on 2 parchment or silpat lined baking sheets.

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes; obviously it depends on the shape you're using and whether they are on the upper or lower shelf, though you can swap them around after about 5 minutes. When they're ready expect them to be tinged a pronounced gold around the edges; they'll be softish still in the middle, but set while they cool.

Remove the cookies with a flat, preferably flexible, spatula to a wire rack. When they are fully cooled, you can get on with the icing. Put a couple of tablespoons of not-quite-boiling water into a large bowl, add the sieved confectioners sugar and mix together, adding more water as you need to form a thick paste. Color,as desired. I think pastes are much better than liquid, not just because the range of colors is better but because they don't dilute the icing as they tint. Ice cooled cookies, as desired.

Next Recipe

More recipes? Try these recommendations:

Similar Recipe

Pumpkin Pie Pinwheel Cookies

Photo: Cut-Out Cookies

Similar Recipes

Recipes Like This

All About…

Recipe Collections

Showing 1-9 of 9

View all 9 Cookie Collections

Comments & Reviews

recipe Cut-Out Cookies
Margaret New Port Richey, FL 02-07-2010
Flag

Nigella, Nigella...
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

I have about 3 of her books. Really, where was the editor? They are either too vague or way over the top. Mostly I use the... books for ideas and then tweek the recipes so that they will be suitable for my use. This cookie recipe is one of the worst I've stumbled upon yet. Read more
recipe Cut-Out Cookies
Sonja Dallas, TX 12-18-2009
Flag

Absolutely NO Taste
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

I love baking, and have never had cookies turn out completely tasteless... Until I tried this recipe. The cookies looked... amazing and were really fun to decorate, but when I tried one, it was like cardboard! No one who tried them liked them, and I ended up throwing away over 3/4 of the cookies I made. :-( Perhaps adding more vanilla and sugar (and maybe even extra butter) might make them taste better, but I don't want to waste my time tweaking the recipe. As it stands, the recipe is horrible! Read more
recipe Cut-Out Cookies
Peter ea, NY 12-17-2009
Flag

Whoever wrote this recipe is a pretentious jerk.
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

Seriously, "until pale and moving towards moussiness"? "mix gently but surely"? "tinged a pronounced gold around the edges"?... Talk about trying TOO hard. It's just a cookie recipe, and a poor one at that. Spend more time tasting what you recommend and less time with your thesaurus 'Nigella'....(and I am sure your real name was like "Mary"). Read more
recipe Cut-Out Cookies
Shelley Riverside, CA 12-15-2009
Flag

Easy, delicious and fun!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

These cookies are so easy to prepare. They stand up well under the artistry of the kids frosting and sprinkles. Yummy too.
recipe Cut-Out Cookies
Rebecca Hendersonville, TN 10-17-2009
Flag

Easy to Do
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

The cookie was awful, it had no taste, I read the reviews prior to baking, I even added an additonal quarter cup sugar, used... salted butter AND added an additonal 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, it still didn't have much flavor, the only thing that saved the cookie was the frosting, we used the Betty Crocker in a can, it was easy for the kids. The batter however, did not change shape, it was right on, that was perfect. Next time, I will definately add more flavor to the dough.Read more
recipe Cut-Out Cookies
Joelle Elizabethtown, PA 10-12-2009
Flag

fun cookie project
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I think these cookies were fun and easy to make. Perhaps you can add a bit more flavor to the dough and icing by using a... small amount of extract. Make the recipe work for you, is what I say. To each his own. Great cookie cutter shapes and bold colors for the royal icing make these cookies. Kids and adults gave my cookies great review. Way to go Nigella!!Read more