Decorator's Dream Cookies

Note from Cheri: The recipe and text below are reprinted with permission from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook (2004, The Countrymen Press). This book is an encyclopedic reference on the subject of cookies with recipes for just about any variety you can imagine. Click here to learn more about this must-have book for cookie lovers and for more great sample cookie recipes.

Cookies for decorating should be thin, light, and crisp, sturdy enough to decorate, yet tender rather than hard. This is one of our favorite cut-out cookie recipes; the Fiori di Sicilia ("Flowers of Sicily," a wonderful orange-vanilla flavor) adds a special "bakery-style" flavor to these treats.

1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) butter 2 cups (8 ounces) confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoons (1 3/8 ounces) light corn syrup 1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons water 1 teaspoon baker's ammonia*, optional 3 1/2 cups (14 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

Yield: about 4 dozen 2-inch cookies Baking temperature: 350°F Baking time: 8 to 12 minutes In a medium-sized bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and corn syrup until light and fluffy. Beat in the flavoring and salt. Add the baker's ammonia to the egg and water, and stir to dissolve. Add this mixture, along with the flour, to the ingredients in the bowl, and beat until smooth. Divide the dough in half, put each half in a plastic bag, and flatten each slightly. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat your oven to 350°F (375°F for Gingerbread Cookies). Lightly grease (or line with parchment) several baking sheets. Take one piece of dough out of the refrigerator, and flour a clean work surface, and the dough. Roll it out as thin or thick as you like; for slightly less crisp cookies, roll it out more thickly. We roll Decorator's Dream Cookies 1/16- to 1/8-inch thick; Light Spice Cookies, 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick; and Gingerbread Cookies, which we prefer a bit less crisp and more chewy, 1/4-inch thick. Use flour under and on top of the dough to keep it from sticking to the table or rolling pin. Alternatively, place the dough on parchment, and put a sheet of plastic wrap over it as you roll, pulling the plastic to eliminate wrinkles as necessary when rolling; this will keep dough from sticking without the need for additional flour. For soft dough, or dough to be rolled extra-thin, you may choose to roll right onto the ungreased back of a baking sheet. Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter, spacing them as close to one another as possible. After cutting cookies, carefully peel up the scrap dough between them. Set this dough aside in a bag in the refrigerator, to be rolled again later. Transfer cookies to greased cookie sheets (or, if you've rolled right onto the pan, remove the dough scraps between the cookies). Bake the cookies just until they're slightly brown around the edges, or until they feel firm, about 8 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for several minutes, or until they're set. Transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. *Baker's ammonia will make an ultra-crisp cookie. Click here for the FabulousFoods.com Cookie Decorating tutorial.