Christmas Cookies

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Christmas cookies are a must during the Holidays. I really enjoy decorating sugar cookies and I try to make them for every Holiday. I have always used my moms sugar cookie recipe because it is such an easy but good recipe. The flavor is sweet but not too much and the cookie is so soft. I like sugar cookies best soft.

I made these cookies last year for my young women (boy, do I miss serving the girls). These cookies are 5″ cookies….so pretty big and a little harded to bake and decorate but I enjoyed giving them away.

The technique I used to decorate these cookies is called floating. I thought today I will share my sugar cookie recipe and royal icing recipe and on my next post share how to decorate cookies with floating.

MOM’S SUGAR COOKIE

Cream together 1 cup shortening and 2 cups sugar

Add 2 eggs that have been slightly beaten

Add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 1/2 tsp almond

fold in 1 cup sour cream (the secret to a soft cookie)

Measure out 5-6 cups of flour, add 2 tsp soda & 1 tsp salt to flour

Slowly mix in 1 cup of flour until all is mixed in

Dough will be a little sticky but will take form when rolled out on flour

Cut out cookies (for these I used a big mug)

Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes (time may vary)

Here are all the different styles of ornaments I did. Royal icing can be a little difficult and requires a bit of practice. It is very touchy and you just have to try it to get a feel for it. I remember the first cookies I tried I got real discouraged because they didn’t look too great. The things I have learned: don’t make it too runny, and if it doesn’t have enough liquid the icing won’t dry shiny. Oddly enough the weather and temperature of your house changes the amount of water needed.

ROYAL ICING RECIPE

4 cups powder sugar
1 Tbsp corn syrup (makes it shiny)
2 Tbsp water (more if needed)
1 tsp vanilla extract or almond
a few drops of food coloring

Mix the powdered sugar along with water, corn syrup and extract until it’s smooth and creamy.

The icing works best when its not too runny. If you run a knife through the icing and draw a line it should take about 5 seconds for it to fill back in where you drew the line. Slowly add 1 tsp at a time if you feel you need more water.

Check back soon for more information on how to decorate cookies with royal icing and I will also be sharing some Valentine cookie ideas.