Not Just Plain Vanilla!

 

And not just fancy, whimsical! Abby Dodge, who wrote the cookbook The Everyday Baker, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her Whimsical Vanilla Cutout cookies. While this originally started as a Christmas Cookie recipe, Abby told Tonia you can form the cookies into whatever shape you want...just as long as it's fun!  One little insider tip: Abby says she uses a mixture of all purpose flour and cake flour to provide a unique texture that makes these cookies something very special!

Bittersweet Chocolate Cut Outs

Makes about 40 2 1/2-inch cookies.

For the cookies

1 cup (4 1/2 oz./128 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups (5 oz./142 g) cake flour, sifted

2/3 cup (2 oz.) unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted

3/4 tsp. table salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

16 Tbs. (8 oz./227 g) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 oz./248 g) granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 yolk from large egg, at room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Make the cookie dough

1. Have ready several sheets of parchment and a cookie sheet. Whisk the all-purpose and cake flours, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl until well blended.

2. Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer fitted with wire beaters) and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and continue beating until fluffy and lighter in color, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, yolk and vanilla and beat until blended, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until the dough forms moist clumps.

3. Scrape the dough onto the work surface and portion into two approximately equal piles. Put one pile of the dough in the center of a sheet of parchment. Cover with another piece of parchment and press down on the dough to flatten. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough between the parchment to a 1/4-inch (6 mm) thickness, turning, lifting, and repositioning the parchment and lightly flouring throughout the rolling. Slide the dough and parchment onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate. Repeat with more parchment and the remaining dough, stack on top of the other one, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.