Today we have a bit of a recipe mash-up between vintage and modern, but since it involves cookies I am sure everything is going to be just fine.

Adapted (slightly changed) from Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook

[cooked-sharing]

These are Butter Cookie Cut-Outs!

A few years ago, my parent’s house flooded. The water damage everything sustained was bad enough, but the mold and damp that took over in the days it took the water to recede was what really took a toll on their house. Many, many things had to be thrown out, including my mother’s recipe collection (it was basically illegible from water and mold). Most of the family favorites she knew by heart, but we also lost a lot of things, like her recipe for sugar cookies.

When I called her a few weeks ago to ask if she remembered her recipe at all, she said she didn’t remember the exact measurements, but that the cookies had a lot of butter. So, switching gears slightly, I looked for a butter cookie I could roll out and decorate. Soon after, I came across this recipe in the Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook:

This is basically a recipe for shortbread, and when I read it off to my mom she said it was close, but her recipe also had an egg in it.

I got together my ingredient list and was just going to wing it. Strangely, while I was online looking for something completely different, I stumbled upon the site The Decorated Cookie, and found on her site almost the exact recipe that my mother had mentioned. In the comments for the recipe on The Decorated Cookie, the author mentioned that her recipe was also a vintage recipe from her mother that she had tweaked slightly.

So, it was pretty much meant to be. And just in time for Valentine’s Day cut-outs!

Well, we also had to break out the Sesame Street cookie cutters. Because that is how we roll cookies now.

This was a really great dough to work with.  I “floured” the boards and cutters with powdered sugar rather than flour, and the dough rolled out perfectly. It even took some serious toddler abuse in the form of squishing with very warm hands, and the cookies still turned out well.

I rolled them thin, because we like them a bit crispy, but the thicker ones turned out nice and soft in the middle.

They also didn’t spread or change shape. It made the small details in the Sesame Street cookies very visible, even after baking. And then I remembered those cookie stamps that were popular in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Do you remember those? My mom had a ton of those. Anyway, I remember this recipe being really good with those because it kept all the little details.

But who cares? All anyone cares about is how they taste.

He’s laughing because this is totally posed. At this point he had eaten probably a dozen and a half cookies.

The Verdict: Perfect

From The Tasting Notes –

These are practically perfect in every way. (Yes, we have been watching a lot of Mary Poppins lately.) They are very flavorful and you can tell they are packed with butter. They are wonderfully crispy if browned, and if cut thick they are soft in the center. They keep their shape well, which is great for detailed, vintage cookie cutters. A winner, and we are going to be using this recipe again next holiday!

Frosting used is Vintage Bakery Frosting!

Vintage Bakery Birthday Cake Frosting

A fantastic, vintage bakery style cake frosting that makes a sugar “crust” when exposed to air.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 2 pasteurized egg whites (I use egg whites from the carton, measured to equal 2 egg whites)
• 2 T cake flour
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 T milk

Instructions

• Cream shortening and sugar well.
• Add egg whites and blend well.
• Add flour, vanilla and 1 T milk at a time until right consistency to spread.
• Will frost a three-layer cake