The recipe also introduced me to an easy way to decorate cookies beautifully for the holidays. I’ve never had the patience to artfully paint sugar cookies with royal icing but love the idea of gussying up cookies for the season, so this simple, fast technique is designed for me. Just find a glass with a decorative base or any solid (preferably circular) object with a deeply etched pattern and use it to flatten the cookie dough before baking. The original instructions call for dipping the glass in sugar before tamping down on the dough, but when I tried this the sugar did not stick to the glass evenly. So below I’ve modified the directions to call for first dipping the cookies in colored sugar (I opted for festive green, red, and gold) and then flattening with the glass bottom.
I loved the results—simply sophisticated in both flavor and appearance.
Buttery Mint Cookies
Yield: 42 cookies
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon mint flavoring
2 cups all-purpose flour
Colored sugars (for decorating)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon mint flavoring
2 cups all-purpose flour
Colored sugars (for decorating)
1. In a mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar; beat until combined. Beat in egg yolk, milk, and mint flavoring. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour with a wooden spoon. Cover and chill 2 hours or until easy to handle.
2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, and roll one side of each cookie in colored sugar. Flatten each cookie with the bottom of a glass with a decorative base. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
3. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, and roll one side of each cookie in colored sugar. Flatten each cookie with the bottom of a glass with a decorative base. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
3. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
