My older daughter has been asking lately to bake all by herself. She has done it a couple of times, and it has worked out well – but most of the time I want to be in the kitchen with her…when I am home, there is nowhere else I would rather be.
I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit, and it look extremely easy. Easy enough for her to make by herself – so I made a deal with her. I told her that I would make the dough, then while I was making dinner, she could prepare the cookies on the sheet. I figured she would like rolling the dough in powdered sugar, then smashing them and sprinkling more powdered sugar on top. I was right – she loved it – and she was great at it! I tried one, and hers looked much better! By the time the cookies were ready to be glazed, she was working on a different project – so I finished them off. It was definitely a team effort – and it went splendidly. Now I just have to get my younger one to join in, and we can have a whole assembly line going – think about all the baked goods then…
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 11/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 2 tablespoons (or more) heavy whipping cream
Preparation
Position racks in top and bottom third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Using electric mixer, beat first 4 ingredients, 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, and salt in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in flour.
Place 1 cup powdered sugar in bowl. Working with 1 level tablespoon at a time, shape dough into balls; roll in powdered sugar to coat. Place on sheet. Press each lightly with flat-bottomed cup. Sprinkle each with more powdered sugar, then press again to thin 3 1/4-inch round. Bake cookies 8 minutes. Reverse sheets; bake until golden at edges, about 9 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, stir 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, and 2 tablespoons cream in small bowl until smooth, adding more cream by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to spread.
Transfer cookies to rack; spread glaze over warm cookies. Cool on rack.
Makes 24 cookies.
For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Mint-Glazed Butter Thins
First Look, Then Cook 
Wow! These looks delicious and festive!!