Nutmeg Sugar Cut-Out Cookie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to cut-out cookies? ›

Pull off the top sheet of parchment, then slide the sheet of dough onto a baking sheet, then pop it in the freezer. (You can stack as many sheets of dough onto one baking sheet as you'd like.) Sandwich your dough between two sheets of parchment, roll, then freeze; it makes cut-out cookies a breeze!

When you decrease the sugar in a cookie recipe, you won't just get a result that's less sweet. You'll get cookies that are harder, drier, crumblier, and spread far less. It was also interesting to note that decreasing the sugar also yielded 1 less cookie dough ball.

Baking powder simply adds carbon dioxide to the equation, providing a more forceful pressure that encourages a dough to spread up and out. Without the well-developed elasticity of a bread dough, the strands of gluten in cookies would sooner snap than stretch, cracking along the surface.

Most recipes suggest rolling the dough to ¼-inch thick because it's easy to work with (less breakage) and achieves a soft, tender cookie. Roll out a portion of dough at a time and keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator.

The lower the sugar, the less cookies spread, the drier/more crumbly they are. Cookies with less sugar taste less sweet, of course. But beyond that, their flavor also becomes flat; sugar is a flavor enhancer much like salt is.

Q: Why are my cookies so puffy and cakey? Whipping too much air into the dough. That fluffy texture you want in a cake results from beating a lot of air into the room temperature butter and sugar, and it does the same for cookies. So don't overdo it when you're creaming together the butter and sugar.

Here are some signs to look out for: Colour: Raw or undercooked cookies tend to have a pale appearance, lacking that golden or slightly browned hue that indicates they're fully baked. Watch for cookies that still have a doughy or unbaked look. Texture: Touch the surface of the cookies gently.

Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. I like to decorate cookies directly on baking sheets so I can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help set the icing. So place the cooled cookies back on baking sheets.

What happens if you use baking soda instead of baking powder in sugar cookies? ›

However, if you're in a pinch, the substitution is one teaspoon baking soda equals three teaspoons baking powder. Baking soda is also much stronger than baking powder and, by trying to provide enough leavening, you may wind up with an unpleasant metallic, salty taste in the final baked product.

Note: The general rule of thumb for amount of baking powder in recipes: 1 to 2 teaspoons (5-10 grams) of baking powder leavens 1 cup (140 grams) of flour. The amount will depend on the ingredients and how they are mixed.

Dip your cookie cutters in flour with each cut. Work from the center of the rolled-out dough to the edges, cutting shapes close to one another to prevent extra scraps and extra rerolling.

Rather than roll dough on a floured surface, roll it between sheets of non-stick parchment or waxed paper. Adding extra flour to the dough while rolling can make cookies tough. And cutout cookies release easily from paper when you move them to the baking sheet, preserving their shape.

Oven Temperature

If you still notice that your cookies are spreading, another thing you can do to help cookies keep their shape, is increase the heat 10-25 degrees higher than the suggested temperature on the recipe. Every oven is different, so you may need to try this for yours.

Simply place the cookie cutter around one of the cookies on the baking sheet. (It should be bigger than the cookie, and therefore not cut off any of the edges.) Then, use the cookie cutter to mold the edges of the cookie from uneven to perfectly round, using a swirling motion.