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!

Baked Ziti with Mini Meatballs

prep: 30 minutes
bake: 55 minutes

serves 6 

for the meatballs you’ll need…
⅓ pound ground beef
⅓ pound ground veal
⅓ pound ground pork
½ cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs
3 cloves garlic, minced or pushed through a garlic press
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon red chile flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

for the ziti you’ll need…
1 pound ziti pasta
5 cups pasta sauce or homemade tomato sauce
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces ricotta
8 ounces mozzarella, diced

let’s get to it…
Combine the meats, breadcrumbs, eggs, garlic, Parmesan cheese, parsley, red chile flakes (if using), salt and ground pepper in a large bowl. Mix together (I like to use my hands to mix). Shape the meatballs into tiny balls, about the size of a grape (or any size you want).
Heat the olive oil on medium high in a large skillet. Add the meatballs in batches and brown on all sides. Remove from skillet; set aside. (They will not be cooked through but will finish cooking when you bake the ziti.)
Place oven rack is in the middle of the oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Coat a 3½-quart baking dish with cooking spray; set aside. (You can also make these in individual serving dishes like I did in the images.)
Prepare ziti according to package directions until al dente. Drain. Return ziti to the cooking pot and toss with 3 cups of the pasta sauce and the meatballs.
Pour half of the ziti and meatballs into the sprayed baking dish. Spoon and spread the ricotta on top of the ziti. Sprinkle on half of the diced mozzarella, another cup of the pasta sauce and half the Parmesan cheese.
Add remaining ziti and meatballs to the baking dish. Top with remaining mozzarella, pasta sauce and grated cheese; cover with foil.
Bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer or until center is hot, cheese is melted and sauce bubbles around the inside of the baking dish. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.