These slice and bake cookies are so much fun! I wanted to be sure I shared the recipe with you at Christmas-time because the color combinations are endless. I made them in blue and gold for my daughter's hockey team - but you could do red and white, green and red, etc etc. It is a basic sugar cookie-type dough and you can use any kind of extract to flavor them. Our kids love almond flavor - so I used almond extract. Plus, you can mix them up a day in advance . . .and then wrap them up and let rest in the fridge until the next day before slicing and baking. Love that!!!! They were a huge hit . . .I am glad I made a double batch!!
Swirly Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
4 adn 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour (plus extra for rolling out)
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 and 1/2 Cup Butter, room temperature
1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
2/3 Cup White Sugar
2 Eggs, Beaten
2 Teaspoons Almond Extract (or extract of your choice!)
Food Coloring as needed
Note: because these cookies have brown sugar in them, the natural dough color is a little darker than a regular sugar cookie. This may cause you to need a little extra food dye depending what color you are trying to achieve!
Step 1: In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Step 2: In a mixing bowl, add the butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat until smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Beat again until all is well incorporated.
Step 3: Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the sugar/butter mixture until evenly blended.
Step 4: Gather the dough into a ball and divide into two equal parts. Place one half in a second bowl. Add desired food coloring to the first bowl with dough (I used blue) and blend until well incorporated. I used my hands and wore gloves. Do the same with the second bowl (I used yellow dye). Or, you don't have to dye the second one at all!
Step 5: On a floured surface, roll out one ball of dough to a 1/4 inch thickness into a rectangular form. Do the same with the second ball of dough and try to keep the size consistent. I like to roll them out on wax paper (easy clean up and helps with the next step).
Step 6: Stack the two rolled out doughs one on top of the other. I had blue on the bottom, yellow on top for my first batch. Beginning on the long edge of stacked doughs, roll the doughs to make a log so the two colors sprial inside each other. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and place in fridge for 6-8 hours. Overnight works well.
Step 7: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease baking sheets.
Step 8: Unwrap the dough log, place on a clean, lightly floured surface. Slice the log into 1/8 inch slices and place on the prepared cookie sheets.
Step 9: Bake in preheated oven for 5-6 minutes, until set.
Enjoy!!
