Hand carved heirloom terra cotta cookie stamps by Rycraft. Baking and decorating is fun and easy. Simply roll the dough into small balls, stamp them with your favorite cookie stamp design, and pop them into the oven. Minutes later, you’ll have beautiful cookies for your cookie jar or for any festive gathering.   SHOP COOKIE STAMPS

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Cookie Stamp Shortbread – Thanks to Rycraft Stamps

Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 cups butter
– 3/4 cup sugar
– 4 cups flour

Instructions:
Cream butter and sugar thoroughly. This is important as the dough can flake off when stamping if not creamed well. Add flour gradually, one cup at a time. Mix this until well blended, but do not overmix. Roll into one-inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Stamp with cookie stamp. Bake at 350° F for 15 to 20 minutes.

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Brown Sugar Shortbread – Thanks to Rycraft Stamps

Ingredients:
– 1 cup butter
– 3/4 cup brown sugar
– 2 1/4 cups unsifted flour

Instructions:
Cream butter and sugar thoroughly. Add unsifted flour. Beat at low speed until combined and well mixed. Form one inch balls. Place 2″ apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Stamp with cookie stamp and bake at 350° F for 10 to 12 minutes.

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Peanut Butter Crunchies – Thanks to Rycraft Stamps

Ingredients:
– 3/4 cup butter or margarine
– 3/4 cup peanut butter
– 1 egg
– 1 cup sugar
– 1/4 cup milk
– 3 cups flour

Instructions:
Beat butter and peanut butter until well mixed. Add sugar and egg. Add flour alternately with milk. Roll into one inch balls. Stamp with cookie stamp. Bake at 350° F for 10 to 15 minutes.

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Basic Preparation and Helpful Hints:
– Season cookie stamps before each use by using toothbrush to oil lightly with cooking oil. Re-oil lightly as needed when stamping to prevent sticking. Never use butter!!! The oil protects the stamp from the butter in your recipes and keeps them from turning rancid while stored.

– Clean stamps with hot soapy water and soft brush.

– If your recipe calls for creaming the butter and sugar, be sure not to overcream, as this may introduce excess air into the batter which can cause the imprinted design to melt away somewhat during baking. High-speed mixers (such as Cuisinart) may cream too fast try turning it to the slowest speed or else cream by hand.

– Experiment with your own butter cookie recipes. You may want to avoid ones that contain baking powder or baking soda, as the design disappears as the cookie rises.

– You may also want to experiment with the type and brand of flour you use, as flours vary by sack and brand and may affect the doughs texture and ability to hold the stamp designs. If the design stamps well but disappears when baked, add a little more flour to the dough. You may find you prefer to use more flour than is called for in our recipes. You may also find that bread flour holds the designs better because it has more gluten. You may also add gluten (found in the grocery store) to your recipe to give more body to the dough and hold the design during baking.

– When finished decorating your cookies, clean the face of your stamps with hot water and a soft brush to remove all traces of butter. Your cookie stamps may be washed like any dish. Let them dry and store in one of our cookie stamp home displays for a charming addition to your kitchen decor.

– Adjustments in baking time and temperature:
…if cookies are too brown on the outside and not done on the inside, lower your oven temperature and increase the baking time.
…thin cookies bake quicker than thick cookies; adjust baking temperature and time accordingly.

– These chaming stamps are not just for cookies. You can create works of art with paper or clay also.