Swap the circles for snowflakes, trees, and tiny candy canes, then slather on glossy red and green icing—suddenly, sugar cookies transform from basic to runway-ready, dazzling with December’s best. Christmas cutout cookies bring a dash of holiday magic to your kitchen, even for folks like me who usually play it safe with classic rounds.
Ingredients
2/3cupshortening
3/4cupgranulated sugar
1/2teaspoonvanilla extract
1egg
4teaspoonsmilk
2cupsplain flour
1.5teaspoonsbaking powder
1/4teaspoonsalt
Icing
1cupconfectioner's sugar
1tablespoonsoftened butter or margarine
2tablespoonsmilk
1teaspoonvanilla or butter flavoring
Method
Thoroughly cream together shortening, sugar, and vanilla. Add egg and beat until fluffy then stir in the milk.
Sift the remaining dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, stir, then add to the wet ingredients, and mix well.
Divide dough in half and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
On a floured surface, roll half of the dough to 1/8-inch thick. Keep the remaining dough chilled until ready to roll. Cut into shapes using Christmas cookie cutters.
Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 375 for 6-8 minutes.
Let cookies cool slightly before removing them from the baking sheet. Once cool, go ahead and decorate them with the cookie icing.
Icing
In a bowl, mix all ingredients together with a fork (if using three different colors, repeat the process with three different bowls). If too dry, add a little more milk. Once mixed, add a few drops of food coloring.
Ice the cooled cookies and then let them set for at least an hour before storing.