Christmas Sugar Cookies (photos)

Christmas Sugar Cookies



Here is another easy to make Christmas Holiday Treat. My youngest Sister is the famous Cookie Mix Sugar Cookie maker in our family. Sorry, no photo - she is famous and any photo will immediately give away her identity.

The recipe she and we always make uses Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix and is very good. There is one bad thing about the recipe. The cookies are much/much better after they have rested at least one or two days in a sealed container. My sister stores her cookies with wax paper between the layers in a white "Tupperware Take Along" box.

I'll share this two ways. First, I will share an old Mennonite recipe, which is homemade and very good (No photos). Then I will share the cookie mix version with photos. At our house, we stopped making the Mennonite version a long time ago.

Mennonite Sugar Cookies

Makes 3 - 5 dozen, depending on size.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter, oil and sugars. Beat
in eggs until well blended. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to creamed mixture.

2. Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° until lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Vanilla Buttercream Icing

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
4 – 5 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk, at room temperature – cold milk will make the icing grainy.
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
salt, to taste

Directions

With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.

Add 4 and 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, the heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for 2 full minutes.

Add up to 1/2 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or another Tablespoon of cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch, or up to 1/8 teaspoon of salt (as desired) if the frosting is too sweet.

Use immediately or cover tightly and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. If using frozen, thaw in the refrigerator then beat the frosting, using a mixer, on medium speed for a few seconds to return it to the creamy state. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a Tablespoon of heavy cream or milk (if needed) will help thin the frosting out again.

Notes
This recipe is enough to frost 12-16 cupcakes, 2-3 dozen cookies or a thin layer on a 9 X 13 inch quarter sheet cake.

Christmas Sugar Cookies Made from Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix

Ingredients - for 30 cookies - one serving for me:

2 bags Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
2 large eggs
2 sticks butter or margarine
1 can Vanilla Frosting
As needed – sprinkles
Silpat baking sheet



Directions:

Mix and bake cookies per package directions. Margarine gives a different texture that I like more than what you get with butter.







Portion cookie dough onto Cookie sheet, or Silpat sheet. We use a #40 scoop (40 scoops to a quart, or 1.6 Tablespoons) They should spread, when heated to baking temperature.





Bake per package directions. Cool on a kitchen cloth or towel.







Ice the cookies with canned vanilla icing, while they are still a little warm.



Sprinkle each cookie with colored sprinkles while the icing is still warm and soft.







Store over night in a closed container – They will soften when stored in a closed container and are best after 2 days storage, if you can wait that long. We place a sheet of wax paper between each layer of cookies when we store them.







Thanks for looking.