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THE SEMISWEET SISTERS

Two sisters who love to bake...

Archives for May 2021

Butter Button Cookies (Mini Sugar Cookies)

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Butter Button Cookies (Mini Sugar Cookies).

I love these little button butter cookies, they are mini sugar cookies. Recipe makes about 75 mini 1″ cookies. I was able to fit them all on 2 cookie sheets to bake them.

About 1″ in size. So teeny tiny.

 

I used a 1″ round cookie cutter made by Ateco (Amazon affiliate link) that came in a set ranging from 3/4″-3 5/8″ in size. I bought it on Amazon a long time ago but I see they still sell it and there are some other brands on there that may be cheaper if you search for circle cookie cutter sets.


Butter Button Cookies (Mini Sugar Cookies)
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1⅛ cup all purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 egg yolk (yolk only)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. degrees.
  2. Use an electric mixer to cream butter and sugar together.
  3. Add vanilla and yolk and mix in.
  4. Add flour and baking powder.
  5. If dough seems dry keep mixing until dough forms.
  6. Roll dough on to ¼" thick. I like to roll dough out in between 2 pieces of floured waxed paper.
  7. Cut into 1" circles using a 1" round cookie cutter. Place on cookie sheet.
  8. Top with sprinkles or sugar if desired.
  9. Bake for 6-7 minutes.

 

 

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Peanut Butter Shortbread Bar Cookies

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Peanut Butter Shortbread Bar Cookies.

Soft peanut butter shortbread bars. These are peanut butter flavored shortbread. They have a soft and crumbly texture. Made with only 5 simple ingredients.

I baked it in a 8×8″ glass baking dish. Sprinkled sugar on the top. Dough is a little dry to work with so it helps to use an electric mixer.  I baked for 20 minutes just until the edges started to turn golden brown.


Peanut Butter Shortbread Bar Cookies
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
  • ¼ cup + 1 Tablespoon peanut butter, creamy
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1¼ cup call purpose flour
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. degrees.
  2. Using an electric mixer add butter, peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla together and mix well.
  3. Add in flour and mix until dough forms.
  4. Put dough into a 8x8" baking dish and use the back of a spoon to push the dough flat. Sprinkle top with sugar.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes.

 

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Quick No Chill Cut Out Sugar Cookies

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Quick No Chill Cut Out Sugar Cookies.

I don’t like recipes that require chilling the dough. I really try to avoid them. Sometimes I make an exception when it is a must but with cut out sugar cookies it is not. You can still make really good cut out sugar cookies without chilling the dough. Actually I think they turn out better then the chilled recipes if I’m being honest. Holidays like Christmas always seem to be such a busy time so this recipe comes in handy when you want to make cookies with the kids.

 

The dough may seem a little dry but this is where an electric mixer comes in handy, if you keep mixing it will form a dough ball that is soft. With the butter I take it out of the fridge and microwave it in a bowl for about 30 seconds to soften it. To prevent sticking when rolling out sugar cookie dough I like to roll the dough between 2 floured pieces of waxed paper (shown in photo above).

Recipe makes several sheets of cookies, amount depends on what size cookie cutters you use and how thick you roll it out. You can cut the recipe in half if you want a small batch of cut out cookies. A full batch made 2-3 cookie sheets of cookies.

The cookies hold shapes well. I prefer thicker cookies because they end up softer but if you like them crispy you can make them thinner. I tried to leave mine close to 1/4″ thick. Frost or decorate as desired.

Quick No Chill Cut Out Sugar Cookies
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or grease them.
  2. Use an electric mixer to cream butter and sugar together. (I mixed for 2 minutes).
  3. Mix in egg and vanilla.
  4. Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
  5. Take ⅓rd of the dough and roll out on a well flour surface using a rolling pin. (I like to put dough between 2 pieces of floured waxed paper, helps prevent sticking).
  6. Roll to about ¼" thick. (I prefer it thicker so the cookies stay softer).
  7. Use cookie cutters to make shaped cookies. Place on prepared cookie sheets.
  8. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until they look set.

 

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German Sugar Twist Cookies

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German Sugar Twist Cookies.

German Sour Cream Twist Cookies. Some people call them Swedish cookies so it is safe to say they are a European style cookie found in Northern and Central European countries. Many people brought the recipe with them when they came to the United States of America and it has been passed down from mother to daughter through the years.

Some photos of the process:

   

You have to mix up the dough then let it chill in the fridge for 2 hours. The dough has no sugar in it so you press the sugar into the dough when you roll it out and fold it in over and over again. When you cut the dough into strips and twist it you can see the layers of sugar in it.

 

Recipe makes about 24 cookies. You can cut the recipe in half if you don’t need a large batch. A half batch will make one cookie sheet of twists.

These cookies are unique with the yeast in it, they are more of a pastry. They turn out soft and tender. I twisted them and formed them into circles but you can leave them straight and twist them or do horseshoe shapes.

German Sugar Twist Cookies
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • 1 (2¼ teaspoons) package instant dry yeast
  • ¼ cup warm water
  • 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) salted cold butter, sliced
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • For rolling out dough:
  • 1 cup white sugar, you may need more or less
Instructions
  1. Add yeast and water to a bowl.
  2. Put flour and salt into a food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter slices and pulse until butter is mixed into the flour and it looks crumbly. (If you don't have a food processor you can use an electric mixer, pastry cutter, or forks to cut the butter into the flour (like when making biscuits).
  3. Add sour cream, egg, egg yolks, and vanilla together in bowl with the yeast/water mixture and whisk together with a fork or whisk.
  4. Pour mixture into food processor. Pulse until the dough starts to hold together (don't over mix). Remove dough from food processor and divide in half.
  5. Flatten each half into a thick circle, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
  6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  7. Take one of the dough circles and roll it out a surface sprinkles with sugar. Roll to about 8x16" rectangle.
  8. Sprinkle top of dough with sugar. Fold the dough over in thirds, like a letter, and roll out again to 8x16".
  9. Fold in thirds again and sprinkle top with sugar.
  10. Roll out one last time (3 times total), sprinkling dough with sugar.
  11. Fold in thirds and roll dough into a 5x12" rectangle, about ¼" thick.
  12. Cut strips from the short side of the dough rectangles, making them ½" to ¾" wide.
  13. Place strips on baking sheets, twist and make circles or leave them straight, whichever you prefer.
  14. Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are just starting to turn light golden brown.

 

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