Favorite Cutout Cookies

Ingredients:

* 1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 2 large egg yolks
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Stir or beat in flour until well blended.

2. Divide dough in half. Flatten each portion into a 1-inch-thick disk. On a lightly floured board, with a floured rolling pin, roll dough, a portion at a time, to 1/8 inch thick.

3. With floured cookie cutters, cut dough into shapes (if dough is too soft to handle, freeze briefly until firm).

4. With a wide spatula or your fingers, transfer cookies to buttered or cooking parchment-lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Gather scraps, pat into a ball, and repeat rolling and cutting.

5. Bake cookies in a 300° oven until golden, about 15 minutes; switch pan positions halfway through baking.

6. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool. If hot cookies start to break, slide a thin spatula under them to release; let stand on sheets to firm up, about 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Powdered sugar icing. Controlling consistency of icing is simple. If it’s too thick, add a few drops of water; if it’s too thin, gradually add more powdered sugar. To tint, add food coloring a few drops at a time.

For spreading: In a bowl, stir 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 cup water until smooth. Tint with food coloring as desired. Spread icing onto cool cookies with a metal spatula. Let stand until icing is firm, about 1 1/2 hours. Makes about 1 cup, enough to coat 1 recipe of Favorite Cutout Cookies.

For piping: In a bowl, stir 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 1/2 tablespoons water until smooth. Tint with food coloring as desired. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8-inch tip or a heavy 1-quart zip-lock plastic bag. Seal plastic bag and squeeze icing into a corner; cut a tiny opening at corner of bag to squeeze icing out. Let cookies stand until icing is firm, about 5 minutes. Makes about 3/4 cup, enough for 1 recipe Favorite Cutout Cookies.

Chocolate Thumbprints

Ingredients:

* 1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
* 2 large egg yolks
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* About 1/3 cup turbinado sugar (see notes)
* Chocolate ganache (recipe follows)

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla until well blended, scraping sides of bowl as needed.

2. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture until well blended. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill until dough is firm but pliable, about 30 minutes.

3. Place about 1/3 cup turbinado sugar in a shallow bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in turbinado sugar to coat. Place 1 inch apart on buttered or cooking parchment- lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets. Press your thumb into the center of each cookie to make a 1/2-inch-deep indentation.

4. Bake cookies in a 325° oven until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely (if indentations have disappeared, make them again while cookies are warm).

5. Carefully fill each indentation with about 1 teaspoon chocolate ganache. Let stand until ganache is shiny and firm to the touch, about 1 hour (or chill for about 30 minutes).

Chocolate ganache. In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (bottom of bowl should not touch water), occasionally stir 6 ounces chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, 2 tablespoons whipping cream, 1 tablespoon corn syrup, and 1 tablespoon butter until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and let cool until thick but not firm, about 15 minutes. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

Dark Chocolate-Espresso Shortbread

Ingredients:

* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup cornstarch
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
* 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder (we tested with Café Bustello)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
* 1 cup powdered sugar
* 3 ounces white chocolate baking bar (we tested with Ghirardelli)
* 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate baking bars

Preparation:

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside.

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating well. Stir in dry ingredients; beat just until blended.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Place 2 portions on opposite ends of 1 baking sheet. Place remaining portion on second baking sheet.

Cover dough portions with plastic wrap; gently press or roll each portion of dough into a 5 1/2″ circle. Lightly score each round with a sharp knife into 6 or 8 wedges.

Bake rounds at 325° for 23 minutes or until shortbread feels firm to the touch. Gently score each round again with a sharp knife. Slide parchment from baking sheets onto wire racks. Let shortbread cool completely on parchment. Cut shortbread into wedges along scored lines.

Melt chocolate baking bars separately in small bowls in the microwave according to package directions. Partially dip wide end of each shortbread wedge in unsweetened chocolate. Place on a wax paper-lined jelly-roll pan, and freeze briefly to set chocolate. Then partially dip other half of wide end of each wedge in white chocolate. Freeze briefly to set white chocolate.

Lemon Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

* 1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
* 2 cups sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 5 cups all-purpose flour
* 4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until smooth and light. Beat in eggs, lemon peel, lemon juice, milk, and vanilla until well blended, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.

2. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until blended. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days.

3. Unwrap dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough out, a portion at a time, to about 3/8 inch thick. Cut with a 3- or 4-inch round cutter and place cookies slightly apart on buttered or cooking parchment-lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.

4. Bake cookies in a 350° oven until edges are golden, 10 to 14 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Powdered sugar icing. Controlling consistency of icing is simple. If it’s too thick, add a few drops of water; if it’s too thin, gradually add more powdered sugar. To tint, add food coloring a few drops at a time.

For spreading: In a bowl, stir 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 cup water until smooth. Tint with food coloring as desired. Spread icing onto cool cookies with a metal spatula. Let stand until icing is firm, about 1 1/2 hours. Makes about 1 cup.

For piping: In a bowl, stir 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 1/2 tablespoons water until smooth. Tint with food coloring as desired. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8-inch tip or a heavy 1-quart zip-lock plastic bag. Seal plastic bag and squeeze icing into a corner; cut a tiny opening at corner of bag to squeeze icing out. Let cookies stand until icing is firm, about 5 minutes. Makes about 3/4 cup.