Classic Sugar Cookies for Holiday Baking Fun

I have to admit—I’m a big fan of Christmas. While I believe the season truly begins after Thanksgiving, I still feel that familiar sparkle as soon as the weather turns cold. I look forward to the decorations, the baking, and the overall festive fun. Since switching from a real tree to an artificial one, I can put it up earlier and enjoy it even longer. Baking is also a huge part of the holidays for me, especially cookies. Classic sugar cookies are a favorite because there are so many fun and creative ways to decorate them.

Holiday Memories on a Tree

I look so forward to decorating; my tree is full of memories. Every time we went on a trip, we bought an ornament to remind us of the locale. Any milestone in our life was marked with a trinket for the tree.

Favorite Ornaments

Many of my favorites are Hallmark Ornaments; I’ve been collecting the Mischievous Kitten series since they were first issued.  I like to keep them all together in place on the tree so I can look at them and smile. Those kittens get into all manner of trouble! I can’t wait to get this year’s ornament.

I have to admit that A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of my favorite holiday shows. It gave me a great idea for cookie baking – and decorating. I really ramp up my baking around the holidays, and I make more cookies in the last two months of the year than I make the previous ten.

Classic Sugar Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

For the Royal Icing
3 TBS meringue powder
4 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
5 TBS water plus more to thin
1 TBS pure vanilla extract

natural or gel dyes

Preheat the oven to 375°
Cream the butter in a stand mixer or in a bowl with a hand mixer.
Add the sugars and beat for about 4 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and nutmeg and mix on low until just incorporated.
Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and form into a ball.
Cut the ball in half. Refrigerate the half you are not using.
Roll the dough out to about 1/4″.

Cut out cookies with cookie cutters and move them carefully to cookie sheets lined with parchment or silicone mats
Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to brown

Cool on a wire rack.
Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Make the Royal Icing:
Add all ingredients to a stand mixer and beat on low for about 10 minutes
Separate the icing into separate bowls depending on how many colors you will be using.
For the icing you want to “fill” a cookie. Thin with additional water 1 TBS at a time until it is of a consistency that will spread easily but not run.

Then the fun begins!

You can decorate the cookies any way you would like.

I chose to do a few different designs; some I filled with green icing. Others were made to look like decorated Christmas trees with a sparkle gel, I used the grass tip on my decorating bag to simulate pine needles, and I “drew” on branches. I kept to the one color of icing except for the sparkle gel so that the effect was cohesive.

How Were the Classic Sugar Cookies?

I was really happy with how they came out. I can also tell you they were very tasty cookies. The nutmeg adds just a hint of unexpected flavor.

I was also thinking that a nice plate of cookies and a holiday ornament would make a wonderful gift. Don’t you love receiving a homemade gift? Any number of themes are possible where an ornament and cookies can combine to make a perfect present.

Who doesn’t love cookies?