How To Make Special Cookies for Santa

Nothing puts people in the holiday spirit more than Christmas cookies. Cheerful, festive and delicious, these cookies rarely make it to the New Year. Since the dough is made a day ahead, this leaves only one mess to deal with at a time, which I am sure you will agree, is especially important if you are planning to decorate with the kids. A frosting recipe is also included, but canned frosting can also be used if time is a factor. Whatever you do, have fun and have a beautiful holiday season!

Equipment:

Large Mixing Bowl
Spoons for mixing
Medium Mixing Bowl
Spatula
Cookie sheets
Plastic wrap or wax paper
Cookie Cutters
Rolling Pins

Ingredients:

3 1⁄2 Cups Flour (not self-rising)
1 Egg (room temperature)
1 1⁄2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/3 C Sour Cream (room temperature)
1⁄2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1⁄2 C or 1 Stick Butter – (room temperature)
1 tsp. Rum or Almond Extract
1 C granulated Sugar
Nonstick Pan Spray
Extra Flour for dusting/rolling

1. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Stir butter together with sugar in large bowl until creamy. Add egg, sour cream and extracts, mixing until smooth.
3. Put half of the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, and stir until thoroughly combined. Now add remaining flour mixture and mix until all the flour is absorbed. (If the dough is overly slack or loose, add just a bit more flour, until not so sticky to the touch. This may vary based on humidity levels.)
4. Divide the dough into two equal portions, wrap each piece in plastic wrap (or wax paper) and refrigerate for 3 – 24 hours.

Rolling and Baking

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray sheet pans with nonstick spray. Lightly dust work area with flour for rolling out dough.
2. Using one portion of dough at a time (reserve remaining dough in refrigerator), roll the dough to a generous 1/8 inch thick. Dust the cookie cutter lightly in dough before cutting shape, to keep edges from sticking.
3. Re-roll any scraps until all dough is used. If the dough should become too soft to work with, return it to the refrigerator to firm up again.
4. Transfer to baking sheets with spatula and bake in upper half of the oven for 7-10 minutes, or until just beginning to turn golden.
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes before placing cookies on wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, decorate as desired.

Decorating Cookies

Ahhhhh, finally the fun part, where there are no rules. The sky is the limit here. You can simply spread them with icing and use candy pieces or colored sugar to detail them. You can also color and pipe your icing onto the cookies for a fancier look. Whatever you decide to do, this frosting recipe works both ways.

What you need for frosting:

Equipment:

Large mixing bowl
Smaller bowls if you choose to color icing
Large Spoon for mixing

Ingredients:

4 1⁄2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 stick soft Butter (unsalted)
Approx 4 Tbs. Milk
Food coloring (optional)

1. Stir vanilla into butter until smooth.
2. Add powdered sugar and mix until it comes together, using milk to achieve desired consistency.

Frosting will keep, covered in the refrigerator for 1 week. Allow to come to room temperature before using. For chocolate icing, substitute 1/3 cup of cocoa powder for 1/3 cup of the powdered sugar.