Description
Irresistible Christmas sugar cookies blend classic holiday flavors with tender textures. Festive ingredients and simple techniques create memorable treats for family gatherings and seasonal celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cups (226 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2.3 tbsps meringue powder
- 4.6 tbsps water (adjust for consistency)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract (optional)
- Holiday sprinkles
- Colored sugars
- Edible glitter
- Food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Butter Preparation: Cream softened butter and sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy, creating a smooth foundational mixture.
- Wet Ingredient Integration: Blend eggs and extracts into the butter mixture, ensuring thorough and even incorporation of flavors.
- Dry Ingredient Combination: Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, then gradually fold into the wet ingredients to form a uniform, tender dough.
- Dough Chilling: Divide dough into discs, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour to enhance texture and flavor development.
- Oven Preparation: Heat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper for optimal cookie baking.
- Dough Rolling: On a flour-dusted surface, roll chilled dough to a quarter-inch thickness, creating an even base for cookie cutting.
- Cookie Shaping: Use festive cookie cutters to create intricate shapes, carefully transferring cutouts to prepared baking sheets with precise spacing.
- Baking Process: Bake cookies until edges turn golden, approximately 8-10 minutes, achieving a delicate crisp texture.
- Cooling Method: Transfer cookies from baking sheet to cooling rack, allowing complete temperature equilibration.
- Royal Icing Creation: Whisk powdered sugar and meringue powder, gradually adding water to develop a smooth, pipeable icing consistency.
- Decorative Finishing: Adorn cooled cookies with artistic icing designs, incorporating vibrant colors, sprinkles, and festive embellishments.
- Final Setting: Allow decorated cookies to dry completely, typically 2-3 hours, before serving or storing these delightful Christmas treats.
Notes
- Butter Blending Technique: Ensure butter is at room temperature for optimal mixing, creating a light and fluffy base that guarantees soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookies.
- Chilling Dough Importance: Never skip refrigeration; cold dough prevents spreading and helps cookies maintain intricate cut-out shapes during baking.
- Flour Handling Tip: Avoid over-mixing after adding dry ingredients to prevent tough, dense cookies; mix just until ingredients are combined for tender texture.
- Icing Perfection Trick: Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating to prevent icing from melting and ensure crisp, professional-looking designs.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 23
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 50 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg