I got a lot of help from Eileen, bless her! She mixed up lots of frosting colors and did most of the work.
OK, folks, let’s bake!
The stirring, the taste testing of the dough, the shapes, the scent from the oven, the colored frosting, maybe sprinkles, mmm! Don’t forget to crank up your favorite songs and SING ALONG while you cook.
Sugar Cookies
I got this recipe from my mom a very long time ago. I thought she got it from The Joy of Cooking but I just looked and I can’t find it there.
Cream:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
Sift in:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Each salt, baking soda, nutmeg
Blend well and chill until firm (about an hour). I do it the fast way – I put a ball of dough in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Roll out the dough to whatever thickness you like. My dad loved very thick cakey cookies. Cut shapes. Put your shapes on the cookie sheet and if you aren’t going to frost them, sprinkle them with a little granulated sugar and puff of nutmeg.
Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden.
If you ARE going to frost them, let them cool on a rack while you mix some food coloring into the frosting.
If you don’t have any Jewish cookie cutters just use a butter knife to cut out triangles. Put them on the cookie sheet overlapping into a Star of David. If you think the center is too thick just press it down with your thumb and put a dab of jam in the dip. Voila! Jewish thumbprint cookies.
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Gingerbread Cookies
Another good recipe for cutting out shapes. I got this from a high school friend, Paula, who knows where she got it. Thanks Paula, where ever you are.
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
Cream together and add:
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
Sift in:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. Ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Blend everything together and chill for 2 hours. Naturally I don’t do this, I put a ball of dough in the freezer for more like 15 minutes. Roll out the dough as thick or thin as you like it. Cut shapes and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 plus minutes – depends on how thick you made them
These are terrific plain or frosted.
I told you about these cookies – my son and a male friend of mine cut out loads gingerbread men and proceeded to create ginger aliens – blue faces, one red eye, green hands. It became a holiday tradition. We’ll be eating aliens around the board games next week.