Vanilla-Butter Sugar Cookies

Seeing those pretty and beautifully decorated butter sugar cookies really made me wanna have fun in decorating them too.

So, my first attempt on decorated cookies
^-^! There, off I went to get some sprinkles and pearl candies ...

After the cut-out cookies were baked and cooled ... I can't wait to do some simple free style "drawing/painting" with frosting.

Gosh ! Realised that I've overfilled the small 'piping bag'. I rolled the parchment paper like ice cream cone to fill the frosting. In no time, my right hand was filled with glaze as it oozed out. Haiz!

Piped some outline ... next, to drop some pearl candies using a tweezer.  Well ... this is where the challenges come. I must apply a gentle yet not too firm pressure in picking up the pearl candies with a tweezer. Didn't count how many times I've dropped the pearls off before placing them nicely on the glaze :(  .. quite tiring picking these tiny pearls with shaky hand ~°~ ... hee hee!

FINALLY ! I told my girl that I could only decorate half of the cookies. Unless she could help me. These decorated cookies were for her gathering at church.

Recipe source : Taste of Home
I've halved the recipe, and reduced the caster sugar slightly and my notes in blue.
Yields about 24 cookies
Vanilla-Butter Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
90g caster sugar
174g butter, softened
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
250g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

FROSTING:
50g confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon milk
Food coloring, optional
Colored sugar (sprinkles,  pearl candies)

Method:
1) In a bowl, combine sugar and butter; beat until creamy.

2) Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Stir together dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture until completely blended. Chill for 30 minutes. (I put the dough in freezer about 20 minutes instead)

3) Preheat oven to 170°C. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with holiday cutters dipped in flour. Using a floured spatula, transfer cookies to ungreased baking sheets. (I didn't use the spatula as could unmould the cookies directly from the cutter)

4) Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

For frosting:
Combine sugar, butter, vanilla and milk; beat until creamy. Thin with additional milk to desired spreading consistency if necessary.

Add a few drops of food coloring if desired. Spread frosting over cookies and decorate with colored sugar.

Allow the glaze to firm/dry, store the cookies in airtight container.

These buttery and vanilla fragrance sugar cookies tasted soft and yummy ... perfect with a cup of hot beverage.  I would definitely preferred the plain ones without the sweet glaze. But nicely decorated cookies are lovely, presentable and yummy as Christmas gift for children and big kids !

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

I'm submitting this post to Cook and Celebrate (Christmas 2014), organized by Yen from Eat your heart out, Diana from Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.

And

I'm submitting this post to "My Treasured Recipes #4 - Ho Ho Ho It's Christmas (Dec 2014)" hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders and co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House.