STAR COOKIE RECIPES RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Dough will be stiff. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into star shapes using a cookie cutter. Set cookies 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Place a teaspoon of jam onto each cookie and spread out towards the points of the stars. Roll out remaining half of the dough and cut into stars the same size. cut holes in the center of each star, then place them onto the jam stars.
• Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden around the edges. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. In a small bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar and almond extract to form a glaze. Add water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too thick to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
• Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium speed until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
• Reduce speed to low, and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until thoroughly combined. Divide the dough into four parts, and flatten each piece into a disk. Wrap the disks in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place a clean piece of parchment paper or a Silpat (a French nonstick baking mat) on work surface, and dust generously with flour. Place one disk of dough in center, and roll to 3/16 inch thick. While rolling, occasionally run a large offset spatula under the dough to distribute the flour and prevent sticking. Use more flour for the top or bottom of dough if necessary. Transfer parchment paper and rolled dough to a cookie sheet that fits in freezer. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes or until the dough is chilled through. (This may be done in the refrigerator, but it will take longer.) Repeat process with remaining dough (you can stack sheets in the freezer to chill).
• Remove dough and parchment from the freezer, and transfer to work surface. Using the cutout templates and a paring knife or utility knife, cut three of each size star. Using a plastic straw, poke a hole in the center of each cookie. Remove the templates from the dough, and pull away scraps from the stars. If the stars are too close together, carefully use a spatula to transfer them to a parchment or Silpatlined baking sheet. Return cut cookies to the freezer to chill before baking; this will prevent excessive spreading. Reroll scraps, and cut out remaining stars.
• Once the cookies are chilled through, remove them from freezer, and place in the oven. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, rotating at least once, until cookies begin to get color. Remove from oven, and transfer to a heat-proof surface.
• Decorate the cookies with Royal Icing and sanding sugar or nonpareils if desired. Place one of the largest cookies on a plate, and place an 11-inch wooden skewer in the hole. Stack the remaining two largest cookies on top, spiraling them so that the points don't line up. Continue to stack the cookies in descending-size order. If you have left the cookies undecorated, dust them with confectioners' sugar if desired. Serve.