Merry Christmas Sugar Cookies

Christmas is almost here and I'll be baking some Christmas cookies with my five grandchildren in the next few days. I love this time of year and it just wouldn't be complete without Christmas goodies. I'm sharing my foolproof family recipe for sugar cookies today; I've adapted it from a 1961 Betty Crocker cookbook.

Can you picture us? I have to close my eyes as the kids drop an occasional egg, flour and sugar, cookie dough, powdered sugar frosting and glitter sugar on the floor - making memories is what it's all about. We keep paper towels handy. I want the kids to remember the fun, not a crabby grandma. Cleaning comes later when they all happily carry their cookies home to share with their families.

I have cookie cutters from my kids' childhood that I use every year. Gingerbread boys (nope, don't have a Gingerbread girl), angels, Christmas trees, stars, etc. I will be making a special trip to the store to restock my sprinkles, colored sugar, red hots and silver dragees. We do have fun.

Here's the traditional sugar cookie recipe we bake:

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Merry Christmas Sugar Cookies

1-1/2 cups butter at room temperature (don't use margarine)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 tsp. pure vanilla (not imitation)
5 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixer bowl. Measure the flour into another bowl, along with the baking powder and salt; blend into the sugar/butter mixture a little at a time until all mixed. I have made this for years and don't really worry about it too much; it always turns out. Next, chill the dough, covered, for at least an hour. (Sometimes I chill it overnight and bake it the next day.)

Now the fun part:

Roll the dough on a flour-covered board to 1/8-1/4 inch thick. The thicker cookies will be softer, which I like. When I'm doing this with kids they get rolled out however they get rolled out! Make sure not to get too much more flour on the cookies or they will be tough.

I oversee the cutting so the cookies are cut close together and use the scraps for the next round (I just add them back into the dough with as little handling as possible). Everyone likes the gingerbread cutter the best, as it makes a bigger cookie and is the most fun to decorate.

Place the cookies on an ungreased sheet and bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes, just until they start turning brown. Since this recipe makes about five-dozen cookies, there's a lot of activity in the kitchen!

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