The Best Cut-Out Cookie Recipe

prep: 20 minutes, plus 30 minutes resting
bake: 8 to 10 minutes

makes about 24 cookies (depending on the size of your cookie cutter!)

you’ll need…

2½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup superfine sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter, softened and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened

1 package Wilton Royal Icing mix

1 package Wilton Candy Eyeballs

1 Wilton Icing Color (I used black)

let’s get to it…

Mix the flour, sugar and salt at low speed in a stand-up mixer. Add the butter a piece at a time until the dough looks crumbly. Add the vanilla and cream cheese and mix until the dough forms large clumps.

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead by hand once or twice. Cut the dough in half. Form two 4-inch disks. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic and let rest in the refrigerator for 30-minutes.

Place oven rack in the center and heat oven to 375°F. Place 1-dough disk between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll out to ⅛-inch thickness. Place on a baking sheet.  Cut into desired shapes about 1-inch apart. Remove excess dough from around cutout cookies and set aside.

Bake for 5 minutes; rotate pan and bake 3 to 5 minutes longer or until light golden brown. Repeat with second dough disk. Leftover scraps can be mashed together and rolled out to make more cookies. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

decorating the cookies…

Prepare the Wilton Royal Icing mix according to package directions. Decorate with Eyeballs and Icing color, or with whatever candy you have on hand!

Banana and Toffee Ice Cream Pie

prep: 1 hour
cook: 30 minutes
bake: 10 minutes
freeze: 4-5 hours

makes one 9-inch pie

for the ice cream you’ll need…
3 ripe bananas
2 cups whole milk, divided
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon conrnstarch
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
1¼ cups heavy cream
⅔ cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces chopped English toffee, divided

for the pie crust you’ll need…
1¼ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch slices
1/4 cup cold solid vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
2 tablespoons cold vodka
2 tablespoons cold water

let’s get to it…
Puree the bananas in a food processor or blender until smooth; set aside.
Whisk 2 tablespoons milk and the cornstarch in small bowl; set aside. In medium bowl, whisk the cream cheese and salt until smooth; set aside. Fill a large bowl ice and water.
Boil the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla in a large saucepan on medium high heat for 4-minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the milk and cornstarch mixture. Return to heat and boil for 1 minute until slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
Whisk the hot mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Whisk in the pureed bananas. Pour mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and seal tightly. Submerge into the ice and water and chill 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
Pour the chilled mixture into a frozen ice cream canister or machine and spin until thick and creamy. When thick and creamy, stir in half of the chopped English toffee. Spoon ice cream into a storage container, press a piece of parchment paper directly on the ice cream and freeze for at least 4 hours.
Mix half the flour and salt in a food processor for 2-seconds. Add the butter and shortening and pulse about 10 to 15 times or until dough looks like cottage cheese and there is no loose flour; scrape bowl. Add remaining flour and pulse 5 or 6 times.
Remove dough from food processor and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle vodka and water over dough and fold until dough sticks together and all liquid is absorbed. Flatten dough into a 4-inch disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (You’ll still be able to see little pieces of butter in the dough).
Move oven rack to the second lowest position. Heat oven to 450°F.
Dust rolling pin and work surface with flour. Remove dough disk from refrigerator. Roll dough in a circle to a uniform thickness (about ⅛-to-¼-inch thick), about 1-inch larger than an upside down 9-inch pie pan (or individual pie plates if using). Place rolled-out dough into pan and press gently into form of plate. Use excess dough to mend any sports or holes in dough. Prick the bottom and sides of the dough so you can “blind bake” the crust.*
Bake for 1o minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes.
Spoon ice cream onto cooled pie crust. Top with remaining chopped English Toffee. Return to freezer for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

*Blind baking, also called pre-baking, is baking a crust without the filling. You do this when the filling has a shorter bake time than the crust. Also helps the crust from becoming soggy. You can prick the bottom and sides of the crust so it keeps its shape during baking. A better idea is to line the unbaked pie crust with foil or parchment paper and fill with pie-weights. Dried beans or lentils work well, too.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

prep: 20 minutes
bake: 20 minutes

you’ll need…
1 cup pecans
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1¼ cup powdered sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour

let’s get to it…
Heat oven to 350°F. Spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally. Cool completely; chop finely and set aside.
Beat butter, ½ cup powdered sugar and vanilla on medium speed in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour and cooled pecans.
Using a spoon, shape dough into small 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until cookies brown on the bottom. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. While cookies are warm, roll them in the remaining powdered sugar until evenly coated. Cool on a wire rack. Roll cookies a second time in the powdered sugar. Store in a tightly sealed container.

Classic Shrimp Cocktail

prep: 30 minutes
cook: 7 minutes

for the shrimp you’ll need…
2 pounds shell-on jumbo or colossal shrimp (I used colossal, 13 to 15 count)
1 tablespoon salt
3 sprigs fresh rosemary or thyme
2 bay leaves

for the cocktail sauce you’ll need…
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 lemon, cut into wedges with seeds removed

let’s get to it…
Combine shrimp, salt, rosemary or thyme and bay leaves in a large pot with enough water to cover. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring often, for 5 to 7 minutes or until the shrimp are pink all over. Drain immediately into a colander; cover with ice. Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving tails on. Refrigerate.
Mix the ketchup, lemon juice, horseradish, Worcestershire and cayenne pepper in a bowl until well blended.
Spoon the cocktail sauce evenly into a ramekin or decorative glass with a wide mouth (a Martini glass is perfect). Make a small cut on the inside of the shrimp (where the legs were) so shrimp can rest on the lip of the glass. Divide shrimp evenly between the cocktail sauce-filled glasses. Serve with a slice of lemon.