Cookies For Christmas Let’s Have Some Fun

As we all know 2020 has been a very rough year. For the lucky folks they did not lose a family member or their job. Sadly for many others they lost one or other, or both. The holiday season is here and is certainly different from seasons in the past. As many of you know I lost my mom in October due to complications from cancer so I can understand what many people are going through during these difficult times. It can be hard to positive, but keeping the holidays alive in your heart can ease the difficulties. You may not be able to share the holidays with all your family members and money may be tight, but the holidays are in the little things. So today I am going to share a butter cookie recipe from King Arthur Flour. You don’t need a lot of expensive ingredients and they are so fun to make (and eat!) I have made these cookies many times and they always turn out great. And be sure to check out their other recipes there are plenty to choose from like Chocolate Crinkles, Almond Cloud Cookies, and Snickerdoodles, I am drooling already, Enjoy!

Ingredients

Cookies

• 1 1/4 cups (142g) confectioners’ sugar
• 18 tablespoons (255g) salted butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, white reserved for topping if desired (see “tips,” below)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia, or flavor of your choice (see “tips,” below)
• 2 3/4 cups (326g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Icing

• 2 1/4 cups (283g) confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons (35g) light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 tablespoons, or up to 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon milk; enough to make a pourable/spreadable icing
• Food coloring, optional
• 1 cup coarse sparkling sugar or colored sugar, for decorating, optional

Instructions

1. To make the cookies: Combine the sugar, butter, egg yolk, salt, and flavor, beating until smooth. Add the flour, mixing until smooth. The mixture will seem dry at first, but will suddenly come together. If it doesn’t, dribble in a tablespoon of water.
2. Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a flattened disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight. When you’re ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator, and let it soften for about 20 to 30 minutes, until it feels soft enough to roll. It should still feel cold, but shouldn’t feel rock-hard.
3. Sprinkle your rolling surface with flour, and flour your rolling pin. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it 1/8″ to 3/16″ thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut shapes. Re-roll and cut the dough scraps. Place the cookies on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets. They can be close together; they’ll barely spread.
4. Bake the cookies in a preheated 350°F oven for 12 to 14 minutes, until they’re set and barely browned around the edges.
5. Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool right on the pan. If you’ve used parchment, you can lift cookies and parchment off the pan, so you can continue to use the pan as the cookies cool.
6. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough, rolling, cutting, and baking cookies. When cookies are completely cool, ice and decorate.
7. To make the icing: Combine the sugar, milk, and corn syrup to make a soft, spreadable icing, adding more milk if necessary. Tint the icing with food color as desired.
8. Spread icing on the cookies, using a knife, a spoon, or your finger to spread it all the way to the edges. Sprinkle with colored sugar or other sugar decorations, as desired. Allow the icing to harden before storing the cookies.

XOXO