Christmas Sugar Cookies

Classic sugar cookie dough with the colors of Christmas scattered through out and cut out into Christmas shapes like a star, snowman, and Christmas tree.

This post I had a little helper with making the cookie dough and cutting out the dough into the Christmas shapes, my niece. When I asked her if she wanted to make cookies she was really excited. I might have a future baker in my family.

I have made two other sugar cookie recipes in a previous post, here are the links to other recipes. Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie and Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies.

A little funny note, when I made this recipe it actually was Winter weather where I live it actually snowed if you saw my last post, Maple Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars. I put the butter out for the recipe the night before around 7 and the next day about 18 hours later the butter was still cold.

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Christmas Sugar Cookies

Time

Prepping: 15 to 20 minutes
Chilling: 3 hours to 18 hours
Baking: 8 minutes

Yields: About 24 cookies

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened
5 1/2 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour, plus a little for cutting cookies and rolling
2 cups Granulated Sugar
3 eggs, room temperature 
1 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 1/2 tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1 1 oz Red Gel Food Coloring, I used Wilton No-Taste Red
1/2 1 oz Green Gel Food Coloring, I used Wilton Leaf Green
Waxpaper or Clingwrap
Cookie Cutters
Disposable Gloves

1.In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add sea salt, baking powder and one egg. Mix together then slowly add in two cups of flour. Scrap down the sides.
2. In two more rounds, add one egg with two cups of flour then the last egg and last 1 1/2 cups of flour.
3. The dough maybe a little crumble but that is okay. Lay a piece of waxpaper with a little flour or clingwrap on a clean surface. Tip bowl over with cookie dough and form into a balls.  Divide into 3 separate bowls. Making a one large dough ball and two smaller ones. Wrap it and place in refrigerator for 1 hour or freezer for 30 minutes.
4. Once the dough has chilled for the first time, place another layer of waxpaper or clingwrap on a clean surface. Remove the two smaller dough balls and leave in the large one in the refrigerator or freezer.
5. Put on gloves, press thumb on the top of the dough then add half of the red food coloring to one of the dough balls. Press the two sides of the dough together then message the dough until the color is even though out. I used the whole tube of red food coloring and maybe half of the green.
6. Place both dough balls back into refrigerator and let chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. If leaving in overnight take dough out for at least 30 minutes before rolling.
7. Cutting cookies: place another piece of waxpaper or clingwrap on clean surface. Divide the red and green dough balls in half. Tear apart and scatter white cookie dough first then the red and green. Lay another piece of waxpaper or clingwrap on top of dough then roll dough into a 1/4 inch thick. Place into refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
8. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper. Press cookies out with a little flour on the cookie cutters. Bake for 8 minutes or until light golden brown. Rotate pans halfway through baking.
9. Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes then remove to a wired rack. Let the cookies cool completely until consuming or decorating.
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