Christmas Sugar Cookies

It wouldn't be Christmas without making frosted sugar cookies. Although time consuming, the finished product is worth the time and mess! Every time I make these I am covered head to toe in frosting, and days later I am still finding sprinkles in my kitchen.

I used to frost the cookies with a knife, but  piping the frosting turns the cookies into a work of art,  without a great deal more effort. I suggest  piping the frosting - it makes a huge difference.

 As I said in my previous post, my Grandma Hayes always makes a million different types of cookies around Christmas. These were always one of the staples, and since I can’t make it up to the farm every Christmas, I had to start baking these myself. I’m not sure how old Grandma Hayes’ sugar cookie recipe is, but it goes back many years, as her grandmother used to make them for her. Buttermilk and lard make these cookies sinful, but once a year I figure it’s fine. There’s only three days left until Christmas, and these are one of Santa’s favorites! Whip up a batch today, and may I suggest… when adding sprinkles to the cookie do it over the sink… it helps decrease the chances of finding sprinkles in crazy places mid January!

*Since this is a secret family recipe I will not post the original here. I found a very similar one from Alton Brown. Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon milk

Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Directions

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.