Saturday, December 4, 2010

Christmas Cookies!

 
Now those sprinkly things just make things worse
'Cause it makes them taste better than they did at first
And they're absolutely impossible to resist
Some disappear to who knows where
But I make sure I get my share
And those kids just stand there waiting for the ones I miss.
- George Strait

I started making Christmas cookies when I was probably about 12.  I always make them for my mom's coworker's kids and my nephews.  I know that their families are always busy and might not have the time to make cutout Christmas cookies.

Finding the right sugar cookie recipe is a task.  I'll let you in on my secret, Land O Lakes has the best sugar cookie recipe.  Sometimes you'll see it in magazine ad's around Christmastime.

I made two batches because I will be gone this week.  I colored half green and red and left the other batch plain.  I have collected different cookie cutters over the year.

Here's the recipe:

1 cup, softened (I accidently used a 1/2 cup of butter, which is 1 stick of butter & they turned out great.)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
 
Mix the butter, sugar and egg in a large bowl and beat until creamy.  Add the vanilla to the mixture. Add the flour, baking powder and orange juice(this is the secret ingredient!). Mix well. If the dough is dry, add more orange juice.  If you would like to color your dough, divide your dough and add food color and mix with a fork in a seperate container. After the dough is colored, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.
 
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Roll out cookies and cut with cookie cutters.  You may have to work with your dough so that it can be cut with the cutters. Put cookies 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 6 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy.

I hear that Santa loves these cookies!