A Christmas Tradition
Posted by Emily
Monday December 19, 2011
They’re simple. They’re a little cliche. But they’re tradition: Christmas cookies.
I’m quite positive that my family has been making the same sugar cookies with royal frosting my entire life (we don’t like to throw Santa for any loops, you know).
This year is no different. I’ll admit, it hasn’t felt much like the holidays to me yet this year; I’m weeks behind on shopping, haven’t put a tree up yet, and have yet to see The Nutcracker and/or Rockettes (a holiday-must for me and my dancing background). But as soon as I sunk my teeth into a bite of these sugary goodies this weekend, it finally felt like Christmas-time.
Here are recipes for Classic Rolled Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing from Dede Wilson‘s A Baker’s Field Guide to Christmas Cookies. I hope they bring as much joy to your family as they have to mine over the years!
Recipe: Sugar Cookies, Classic Rolled
Ingredients
- 3 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1⁄2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- Colored sugars and granulated sugar
Instructions
- 1. Whisk flour and salt together in a small bowl.
- 2. In large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add granulated sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes; beat in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add about one third of flour mixture and mix on low speed. Gradually add remaining flour, mixing just until blended. Scrape dough onto large piece of plastic wrap, form into 2 very flat discs, cover completely with wrap, and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out, at least 2 hours or overnight.
- 3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- 4. Take 1 disc and roll out to 1⁄4-inch thickness on floured surface; you may need to flour the pin, too. Cut out cookies with shapes of choice. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Decorate with colored sugars or granulated sugar as you wish. Bake until edges just begin to turn light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Slide parchment onto racks to cool cookies completely.
Number of servings (yield): 36
Recipe: Royal Icing
Ingredients
- Thick royal icing (yields 1 1⁄3 cups)
- 3 3⁄4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 3 large egg whites
- Gel, paste, liquid, or powdered food coloring
- Medium royal icing:
- 3 3⁄4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 tablespoon water
- Gel, paste, liquid, or powdered food coloring
- Thin royal icing:
- 3 3⁄4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 tablespoons water
- Gel, paste, liquid, or powdered food coloring
Instructions
- For each of the icings, place confectioners’ sugar, egg whites, and water, if called for, in clean, grease-free bowls and whip with an electric mixer on high speed until thick and creamy, about 6 minutes. Tint, if desired, with food coloring (powdered colors are dusted over dry icing). Start with small amounts of gel, paste, or liquid color; you can always add more.
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[...] question, my favorite Christmas recipe is sugar cookies with royal icing. They’re so simple, but my family has been making them my whole life and they haven’t [...]