Auntie Jeannie's Famous Butter Cookies

My Auntie Jeannie is amazing.  Growing up, my siblings and I would get excited to go to holiday dinners because we knew that Auntie Jeannie's cookies would be there. She made the most beautiful cookies that tasted as good as they looked. Each one is a little work of art that I knew took forever for her to create. Three years ago, she invited my sisters, mom and I over to learn how to make them. Mine are not even close to the caliber of Auntie Jeannie's but I keep in mind that it takes years of practice to achieve her level of perfection and my kiddos are glad to be the guinea pigs!

Don't be tempted to skip the butter cookie recipe and use refrigerated dough.  It might still be pretty, but DOES NOT taste the same. This recipe is the perfect combination with the sweet royal frosting. I always double the recipe because these cookies are so labor intensive that I want to give them to as many people as possible each time I make them.



Butter Cookies
3 C flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C real butter (not margarine or light butter)
3/4 C Sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Sift or whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

Cream butter & sugar. Stir in egg, vanilla and milk. Slowly add in dry ingredients. Chill for 1 hour.

Roll out on a floured surface. Dough might be hard right out of the fridge- just break off a piece and work it with your hand before rolling it out.  Be sure to coat the rolling pin with flour so the dough doesn't stick. Cut dough at 1/4 inch thick. Bake at 400 for 6-8 minutes.

 

Icing

Powdered Sugar

Milk

small bowls

food coloring

butter knives for each color of icing

piping bags

#3 tips

I always hate when people say this, but there isn't an exact measurement for this. I always start with 2 cups sugar and add milk a tbsp at a time until I achieve the right consistency.

Step 1: you want it to be thick enough to spread, but thin enough not to clump- almost like a glaze. Once you have the right consistency, divide into bowls and color the icing. spread onto the cookies with a knife. Let cookies set until the icing is hard. 

Step 2: You want the icing to be very thick, but not so thick that it won't come out of the piping bag. If you have icing left from step one, add powdered sugar until it get thick. Otherwise, just mix a big batch like you did in the first step but use less milk and divide it to make the colors. To test that its the right consistency, scoop a little out with a spoon and draw a line on the counter- if the line of icing holds it shape, its good. If not, add more powdered sugar. Put icing in piping bags with the #3 tip and start decorating!