Basic Holiday Butter Cookies-Pt 2

This is part two of a basic holiday butter cookie recipe, and it’s all about what you do with the dough. One batch turns into four completely different cookies: classic cutouts, spritz shapes, chocolate caramel marbles, and coconut macaroon wreaths. Same dough, different techniques, a whole cookie tray filled.

The cutouts get decorated before baking with an egg yolk paint that intensifies in color as it bakes. Mix egg yolk with water, divide into small bowls, and tint each with food coloring. Paste coloring gives you bolder, more vivid results than liquid. Use a fine brush for details or cotton swabs for broader strokes.

Chocolate caramel marbles wrap marbled chocolate dough around quartered caramels for a surprise center that goes gooey in the oven. The coconut macaroon wreaths are shaped by hand, brushed with egg white, and studded with red cinnamon candies. They look like tiny Christmas wreaths on the tray.

Chef Tips

• Keep the dough chilled between batches. Warm butter cookie dough loses its shape and spreads during baking.
• For the egg paint, use paste food coloring rather than liquid. The colors bake richer and don’t dilute the egg mixture.
• Don’t overwork the chocolate into the marble dough. A few folds give you visible swirls; too many turns it uniformly brown.
• Chill the caramel marbles a full 20 minutes before baking so the dough holds its ball shape.

Variations

• Dip cooled cutouts halfway in melted white chocolate for an elegant finish.
• Add crushed candy canes to the coconut wreaths instead of cinnamon candies for a peppermint version.
• Use butterscotch chips inside the marbles instead of caramels for a different flavor surprise.