A few weekends ago Sarah and I got into the holiday spirit with some cookie baking. We listened to holiday tunes, drank some eggnog lattes and ended the day with frosting all over our clothes and approximately 26 decorated cookies (plus about 1/2 a batch of uncooked dough and 2 dozen undecorated cookies).
We learned that our parents must have been very patient to have baked cookies with us as children, turns out it's quite a process and a pretty sticky mess. These cookies were very tasty and I would make them again. Last weekend I frosted up the rest of the batch and threw eggnog into the frosting for some extra x-masness.
snowflakes, doves, whales, snowmen, leaves, mittens, lightbulbs and reindeer!
the decoration journey begins.
3 hours later, you've got yourself two plates of decorated cookies!
SUGAR COOKIES
1 cup (2 sticks) butter , softened
1/2 cup sugar 1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter and sugar until blended. Increase speed to high; beat until light and creamy. At low speed, beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in flour and baking powder just until blended.
Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Wrap each piece with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until dough is firm enough to roll. Or place dough in freezer for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll 1 piece of dough 1/8 inch thick. With floured 3- to 4-inch assorted cookie cutters, cut dough into as many cookies as possible; wrap and refrigerate trimmings. Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on ungreased large cookie sheet.
Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough and trimmings.
When cookies are cool, prepare Ornamental Frosting if you like; use to decorate cookies as desired. Set cookies aside to allow frosting to dry completely, about 1 hour. Store cookies in tightly covered container (with waxed paper between layers, if decorated) at room temperature up to 2 weeks, or in freezer up to 3 months.
ORNAMENTAL FROSTING
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
assorted food coloring
In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup or milk.
Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.
