Mascarpone Creams

Taken from Cookies for Christmas.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour

Cream the butter at medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat in the sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt until fully incorporated, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the mascarpone and the egg, followed by the flour. The dough will come together in the bowl.

Divide the dough in half. Between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap (I prefer plastic wrap), roll the dough to a 1/8-inch thickness. Chill for an hour or so.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Working with one half of the dough at a time, cut out the desired shapes with cookie cutters about 3 inches in diameter. Place on greased cookie sheets, then using a smaller cookie cutter, cut out the centers of half of the cookies. Gather the dough scraps together, roll them out, and then leave them to chill while you work with the other half.

Bake for 5 – 10 minutes or until the edges are beginning to brown; watch it carefully. Let cool for at least five minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

If desired, glaze the cookies with thinned royal icing and decorate with nonpareils, jimmies, colored or pearl sugar, etc.

Spread the full cookies with a filling of your choice, e.g. jam, Nutella, or Bittersweet Chocolate Spread and place a cookie with a cutout on top.