Let it snow Cookies!

Handmade gifts, including home cooked gifts really exemplify the giving nature of the holiday season. When mass produced items eclipsed lovingly created gifts, something of Christmas was lost forever. That’s why I bake. It is my way of putting me into my giving. Christmas is one of the greatest times for people who do not cook to get into the kitchen and try their hand at something. It also is a time for experienced cooks to get in the kitchen and prove their salt worth.

This it the perfect time for you to involve your children and your families in creating something that says you are important to me. It is a time to bond and for many it can be very educational. Sugar cookies are a wonderful opportunity for parents to tell the Christmas story, selecting nativity cookie cutters that are in the shapes of Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wisemen, Baby Jesus, donkeys and camels. Jewish parents can purchase Hanukkah cookie cutters in the shape of a menorah, torah, chai, dreidle, star and shofar. African American parents can purchase cookie cutters in the shape of a chalice, fruits and vegetables for the Masao, a candle holder, corn, and gifts for their Kwanzaa celebration and serve them a on straw mat. And by now I’m sure you’ve got the point.

My recipe is eggless due to the food allergies in my family, but the benefit is that you little ones can play with and eat as much of the dough they want without worrying about contamination from uncooked eggs. I also use real butter in my sugar cookies.  It’s an obsession of mine.

Sugar Cookies (Printable Recipe)

• 1½ cups butter at room temperature
• 2 cups of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3 drops of lemon extract or ½ teaspoon of lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 6 cups of all purpose flour - sifted
• ½ to 1½ cups milk
• plastic wrap
• 2 cups of flour + 1 cup of powdered sugar – sifted
• parchment paper
• cookie cutters

Cream the butter and sugar until really fluffy – about 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and the lemon zest and mix for 30 seconds. Add the salt and baking powder. And mix for another 30 seconds. Then add the flour and milk alternately ending with the flour. Divide the dough into 3 or 4 parts and wrap each section individually then chill 3 hours or overnight (best).

When it is time to roll and cut, preheat the oven to 350^oF.

Sprinkle your work surface liberally with the flour/powdered sugar mixture. Only take one package of dough out of the fridge at a time so that the others stay chilled. Roll out the dough until ¼ of an inch or a little thicker. Dip the cookie cutters in the flour/powdered sugar mixture and then start cutting your cookies.

Really try to cut as many cookies as possible out of one rolling because the more you work the dough the tougher it will become. It is simpler if you leave your cutter in the dough and then place the other cutter down before removing the first like a jigsaw puzzle. Re-roll the scraps and cut them as well.  Use any left over peices after this rolling as small balls that are flattened. These can be decorated as ornaments.

Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper and place the cookie on the paper leaving about ¾ of an inch between your cookies.  Bake until the edges are golden – about 6-10 minutes. Remove the whole parchment paper to a cooling rack.  Keep the parchment in tact as this will be your decorating mat as well to keep the Christmas Mess Grinch at bay.

Make sure your cookies are well cooled before you start decorating.

Cookie Frosting

About 5 years back I went to the beauty supply store and I bought these little bottles that hold one cup of frosting each. That way kids can use them to make intricate designs on their cookies. It is so much easier than using piping bags or zip top bags. You can also decorate for an hour or so, and then come back again tomorrow to decorate more without having to clean up. It’s so easy and clean.

I also only use professional gel colors from Wilton which can be found at Michaels or at most party supply stores. They don’t dilute your recipe and they are intense! A little goes a very long way. Trust me on this!

• 1½ cups of powdered sugar per color
• milk
• a selection of colors
• a selection of sprinkles, sanding sugars, mini chocolate chips, peppermint crumbles, or other decorative items.

For each color, mix in a plastic bowl 1 cup of powdered sugar and a few ½ teaspoon of milk to make a thick paste. Then dip the point of a butter knife into your gel color and scoop the amount you come out with should be about the size of a short pinkie fingernail. Then using the knife, blend the color into the frosting mixture. Add another ½ teaspoon of milk to bring the frosting to a squeezable consistency. Pour the frosting in to one of the squeeze bottles and then rinse all of your stuff and start over with your next color.

Once all of your frosting is ready, it is time to decorate! Have fun!