Tasty Tuesday – Christmas Sugar Cookies!

Tweet!

Welcome to Tasty Tuesday – I am so excited to share with you today my
never fail sugar cookie recipe. They never fail to turn out well, and they

never fail to be eaten!

This recipe makes a great, shortbread like cookie that is good either plain or frosted.

Of course they wouldn’t be Christmas cookies without frosting!  And they are not overly sweet,

so they can handle the extra sugar!

1st preheat the oven to 400 degree’s -

Then start out, as all good things do, with
3 cubes of butter – or 1 1/2 cups.

The butter is supposed to be softened. Considering

the fact that it is around 12 degree’s outside today, the cubes didn’t soften much when I left them

out on the counter for 6 hours. So I tried softening them in the microwave. That never ever works

for me – I don’t know why not, I do everything you are supposed to do!

Anyway – you take the liquefied butter out of the microwave, and mix it with

two cups of sugar.

I guarantee the solidity of the  butter doesn’t make a difference in this recipe -

buttu is buttu baby!

Next you beat into the butter and sugar 4 eggs and a teaspoon of vanilla.

Now stir in 5 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt.

Stir until it is all mixed – don’t over do it.

Then comes the tough part, but you have to do it. Put it in the

fridge for an hour. I know you have just gotten yourself in the mood

for baking, and it is hard to put it on hold, but just go do laundry or

something for an hour. Or clean the refrigerator! There is a job that

is always out there waiting to be done! Or – steal away with a cup of tea for some

quiet time. I know you mom’s out there don’t know what that is, but it is coming. I swear..

After at least an hour – take the cookie dough out. I usually leave the

bowl in the fridge and just take out portions as I use them. So take a

handful or so – it is easier to roll out in smaller segments.

This is my favorite little mini roller from Pampered Chef!

So now is the time to decide what cookie cutters you are going to use…

I have a lot of choices. I have one set of cutters that are at least as old as my marriage

(30 years) and I don’t even remember where they came from. I always have

great memories when I pull out the cookie cutters. Thinking back through the years….

I try to make sure I make one size of cookie per baking sheet. That way they stand a

better chance of all cooking equally and being done at the same time.

Today I started out with my little gingerbread guys for my grandkids -

Cook them 6 to 8 minutes at 400 degree’s

I feel the need to state once again that this is a seasoned cooking stone – not dirty – seasoned.

I threw in some stars too!

Now – for the frosting. It is really more of a glaze, and it has a secret ingredient

that makes it shiny!

That’s right – corn syrup! You are going to love the way it looks!

This is the simplest recipe – you just take one cup of powdered sugar, one tablespoon

corn syrup, and two tablespoons water. Mix that up and add some food coloring and you’re done!

I usually need to use a little more water, if it gets too thin just add more powdered sugar.

I also add a few drops of vanilla to add some flavor. Frost the cookies and let them

dry – you will have beautiful shiny Christmasy cookies.

The naked guy in the middle had an unfortunate accident on his way to the cooling rack.

He will be introduced to my mouth very soon… I didn’t want to take the effort

to frost him when his time was so limited – kind of sad actually..

Have fun making your own Christmas Cookies – send me your pictures!

Check out more Tasty Tuesday items at

Beauty and Bedlam