Vanilla Butter Rollouts

Name: Vanilla Butter Rollouts
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: about 3 dozen.
Ingredients: 1-1/2 cups butter, softened; 1-1/2 cups sugar; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 2 large eggs; 4 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon cream of tartar; 1 teaspoon salt; FROSTING:; 6 tablespoons butter, softened; 3 cups confectioners' sugar; 1 tablespoon clear or regular vanilla extract; 3 to 4 tablespoons 2% milk; Paste food coloring, optional; Assorted decorations, optional

Even cooks who normally shy away from cut out cookies can make these with confidence. The dough is so easy to work with after a mere 30 minutes of chilling. —Colleen Sickman, Charles City, Iowa

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
FROSTING:
6 tablespoons butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon clear or regular vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons 2% milk
Paste food coloring, optional
Assorted decorations, optional

Directions

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; cover. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll.
Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-1/2- to 3-in. cookie cutters. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
For frosting, beat together butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to reach desired consistency. If desired, tint with food coloring. Spread or pipe onto cookies; decorate as desired.

Editor's Note: For our Santa's belt cookies, we decorated 2-3/4-in. square cookies using a #18 star tip for the furry trim, black Sixlets for buttons, a #45 basketweave tip for the belt and gold nonpareils for the belt buckle.

Nutrition Facts

1 cookie: 214 calories, 10g fat (6g saturated fat), 36mg cholesterol, 182mg sodium, 29g carbohydrate (18g sugars, 0 fiber), 2g protein.

Originally published as Vanilla Butter Rollouts in Best of Country Cookies

Reviews

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petrino258

Dec 14, 2014

I halved the recipe today and it made 3 1/2 dozen. I make alot of different cookies for Christmas. I have to say I have been looking for a different cut cookie for the holidays, and this is the ONE!!! I left it in the fridge for 50 minutes and had to put left over scraps back in there to the end. Very tasty indeed..Baked them 8 minutes just till slightly brown at edge. These cookies are even good without icing!!! This is a keeper..Thanks for the great recipe...Irene
brewcityblondie

Dec 27, 2012

These are the ONLY cut-out cookies I make for whatever holiday is going on - Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc. - my kids and family LOVE these cookies! These are very tasty and the dough is very easy to roll-out and work with. Once I found this recipe, it's the only one I use now.
Nancy Adams

Dec 10, 2012

Excellent flavor, and easy to handle. I made two batches of these, and they are hard to keep around!
katyh777

Oct 20, 2012

Great flavor and perfect for decorating!
littlelady88207

Dec 11, 2011

THESE COOKIES HAVE A CALE LIKE TEXTURE. i PREFER A CRISO SUGAR COOKIE. tHE CUTOUTS SPREAD AND ARE LARGER THAN THE COOKIE CUTTER. fOR ME THE FLAVOR WAS RATHER BLAND. WILL NOT MAKE AGAIN. BUT ALL THIS IS A MATTER OF TASTE.
Johna Hansen

Dec 9, 2010

The best sugar cookie cutout recipe I've come across!
chellenic

Jan 25, 2010

We made these for christmas last year and they were so yummy! I can't wait to mke them again!
sladphie

Dec 23, 2009

Very easy to roll out, as long as you keep the thickness to 1/4" or more, the cookies cut and bake with no problems! Delicious flavor as well.
ruthsgranddaughter

Dec 21, 2009

I made the cookies for my son's class to decorate at their Christmas party, and they got rave reviews. All of the kids asked for more, saying they were "the best cookies ever!" I will be making more for my family party this week. :)
josiezanker

Feb 15, 2009

This is my favorite roll-out recipe. I have made it the original way as well as substituting some of the vanilla with almond or orange extract for a different flavor, ie:2 tsp orange extract, 1 tsp vanilla. Everyone loves these cookies! However, I have had trouble with the frosting recipe, and now use a different one. But overall, very good!