Daisy Sugar Cookies

November 25, 2015

Sugar cookies are very tolerant by nature. Sugar cookie dough doesn’t really care how many times you re-roll the scraps, or how much flour you use to keep them from sticking to the counter. What’s important is their fun shape and the crazy decorations. Every kid of every age love the end result; they are just so damn fun!

I have a fetish for animal cookie cutters (moose, rabbits, fish, butterflies, piggies, sheep, doggies, paw prints, etc) and I LOVE Hammer Song Cookie cutters. They are handmade tin cutters that are endearing in every way, and are still in production today. I get mine at www.fancyflours.com , but you can find them with a simple Google search and choose a supplier closest to you.

Ingredients

Makes about 30 cookies

Volume Grams Ounces

Sugar Cookie Ingredients

2 cups 240 grams 8.5 ounces all-purpose flour, bleached
¼ teaspoon ¼ teaspoon ¼ teaspoon fine salt
½ teaspoon ½ teaspoon ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 stick 113 grams 4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup 198 grams 7 ounces white sugar
1 1 1 large egg
2 tablespoons 2 tablespoons 2 tablespoons brandy of any kind
½ teaspoon ½ teaspoon ½ teaspoon vanilla

Icing Ingredients

1 cup 227 grams 4 ounces confectioners’ sugar
1 1 1 egg white
a few drops of lemon juice
wilton luster dust--gold
disco dust--pink

Instructions

SPECIAL COOKIE EQUIPMENT

Plastic wrap, offset spatula, a rolling pin, daisy cookie cutter, cookie trays, ruler

MISE EN PLACE–SUGAR COOKIES

Click here to see a complete explanation of how and why to Mise en Place
Measure the flour, salt and baking powder, and combine in a separate bowl. Measure the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Combine the egg, brandy and vanilla. Set aside. Spread three pieces of plastic wrap on a clean surface. Lightly spray three cookie trays.

MAKE THE COOKIE

Cream the butter and sugar until very smooth. Add the egg, brandy and vanilla mixture, and beat well until very light in color. It’s important to dissolve the sugar well at this point. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix well, until just incorporated. Turn the dough onto the counter and gather it up into a ball. Knead it a little until smooth, and divide into 3 equal pieces. Wrap each piece in plastic and refrigerate until firm, overnight if necessary.

DECORATING THE COOKIES

With a dry brush, paint the lemon yellow over the entire flower of a cooled cookie. If the icing isn’t spreading nicely, wet the brush a little and continue. Let dry.

Prepare the Luster Dust–Gold by combining 1/8 tsp of vodka or other grain alcohol with a tiny amount of Luster Dust. Paint over the lemon yellow icing.