The holiday season is the perfect time to share festive, delicious homemade treats. So get out that rolling pin, and get ready to bake the best Christmas sugar cookies ever.
Best Ever Christmas Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- extra flour for rolling out the dough
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar using an electric mixer at medium speed.
- Add the egg yolks and vanilla to the mixture and beat until smooth and combined.
- Reduce the mixer to low speed, and slowly add flour and salt to the mixture.
- Beat mixture until blended, but do not over-mix.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface.
- Form the dough into a ball and divide in half.
- Flatten the halves into disks about 1 1/4-inch in thickness.
- Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out the dough to about an 1/8-inch thick round.
- Use decorative cookie cutters to cut out cookies from the dough.
- Use a spatula or butter knife to transfer the cut out cookies to a cookie sheet.
- Space the cookies about 1 1/4-inches apart on the cookie sheet.
- Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until cookies are light and golden.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes, and then transfer to a rack to continue cooling.
- Repeat the process using the second half of the dough, and gather any excess dough into a ball and re-roll it.
- Place cooled cookies on a serving tray or store in an airtight container for one week.
Enjoy these cookies plain, or dress them up by sprinkling some coarse sugar over the top right before baking. Decorate them with icing made by mixing a cup of powdered sugar with 3 teaspoons of milk. Add food coloring to the icing if desired.
Get creative and decorate the cookies with sanding sugar, colored sprinkles or other decorative candies for an extra festive touch. It's easy to do and a fun activity for kids who like helping in the kitchen.
To vary the recipe, try almond extract in place of vanilla or add 1/2 a cup of finely chopped pecans or walnuts into the dough. Try making the thicker icing into a glaze by thinning it out with equal parts of lemon juice and water until desired consistency is achieved. Spoon the glaze over the cookies and sprinkle sanding sugar or sprinkles over the glaze, while still moist to help the decorations adhere well.
Serve these festive sugar cookies at Christmas parties and holiday gatherings or place them in colorful cookie tins or bags to give as gifts. Family and friends will look forward to indulging in this traditional holiday favorite.
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