Frosted Holiday Sugar Cookies
by Amanda Formaro
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Decorating cookies is such a fun family project. Turn on some holiday music, turn off the TV and spread the sprinkles, candies and sugars out for this fun event.
Ingredients
- 3-3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter or margarine, softened (not melted!)
- 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Cooking Instructions
- Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
- Beat butter or margarine, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl with electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture and stir with wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for two hours.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter or other round object, such as a glass or round plastic container. Place circles 2” apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes, checking after 6 minutes. Cookies will be done when edges are lightly browned. Do not allow cookies to get too brown. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Remove from cookies sheets to aluminum foil on a flat surface and allow to cool completely.
- What You Do
- Bake your favorite sugar cookie recipe (try Amanda’s Sugar Cookies, above), or purchase a package from the store.
- Using a butter knife, spread white frosting on top of each cookie.
- Let children decorate the cookies with sprinkles, sugar, and candies.
- To make holly berry cookies, place two red candies or jelly beans toward the top of the cookie and draw on leaves with green decorator gel.
- For sugar stars, trees and other shapes, gently place a miniature cookie cutter on top of the cookie after it’s frosted. Carefully sprinkle a small amount of sugar into the cookie cutter with your fingers, being careful not to let the sugar fall outside. Gently remove cookie cutter.
- You can completely cover a cookie with decorative sugar by holding the frosted cookie upside down and dipping the frosted end into the sugar to coat.
- Use red decorator gel to write “Ho Ho Ho!” on your cookies.
- A snowman can be made from candies and fruit roll ups. Cut a strip of fruit roll up, about ½ thick, and twist it into a rope. Place the fruit roll up around the top of the cookie as ear muffs and add jelly beans for the muffs themselves. Decorate face with colored candies.
- Use cherry raisins to form the petals of a poinsettia. Place a colored candy in the center.
Helpful Hints
- Prepare your table before putting the cookies out. Place all the sugars, candies and other decorating items in a row buffet style.
- Be sure you have all the ingredients and decorations you will need before heading to the store. The fewer trips the better!
- You can use just about any type of flat cookie for this project. Peanut butter, chocolate chip, shortbread, whatever your favorites are. We recommend soft cookies over hard since the frosting is soft.
- Prepare your table before putting the cookies out. Place all the sugars, candies and other decorating items in a row buffet style.
- Be sure you have all the ingredients and decorations you will need before heading to the store. The fewer trips the better!
- You can use just about any type of flat cookie for this project. Peanut butter, chocolate chip, shortbread, whatever your favorites are. We recommend soft cookies over hard since the frosting is soft.
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