Holiday times are definably for baking… well at least in our house. As December sets in we start to bake all different kinds of goodies. And the most popular is always these Holiday Cookies. By using one basic dough you can create so many different looking cookies.
These sugar cookies are vanilla flavor, but really works well with any other flavoring. I like to divide my dough in half and flavor each half differently. Try using orange essence or even rum essence to give them a holiday feel. If you decide to do this replace the vanilla and almond essence with 2 teaspoons of your chosen flavoring.
Once you have decorated all the baked cookies why not pack them in a Christmas wreath. These holiday cookies makes a stunning edible centerpiece. Add some ribbons and you will have a show stopper.
Vanilla sugar Holiday cookies
Ingredients
3 Cups cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar, white
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg, large
1 1/2 teaspoons almond essence
Directions
Grease two baking sheets and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In another large bowl and using an electric mixer, mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Now beat in the egg and mix well. Now add the vanilla extract and the almond essence. Mix well, scraping the sides of the bowl down regularly in between mixing.
Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Divide the dough into two, and cover each half tightly with cling wrap. Place in the fridge for half an hour to rest.
Heat the oven to 180˚C.
Roll one half of the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll to around 6mm thickness. Using cookie cutters cut out the shapes that you wish to make. Carefully lift them off the table using a spatula. Transfer them to the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake these cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking tray before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool off completely.
Holiday cookies – Variations
Chocolate drizzled trees and hearts
Cut rolled out cookie dough with into trees and hearts. Bake cookies until golden brown. When the cookies are cooled, drizzle each tree cookie with melted white chocolate, allow the chocolate to set a bit then sprinkle with colored sugar crystals. Drizzle each heart cookie with melted milk chocolate. Allow the chocolate to set slightly before sprinkling with sprinkles of your choice. Allow the cookies to dry completely before storing them.
Stained-glass cookies
Cut rolled out cookie dough with your chosen cookie cutter. Now using a smaller shape, cut out the center of the cookie. Carefully transfer the cookie to the prepared baking sheet. Bake for around 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and fill each center with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed boiled sweets. Place back in the oven for around 3 minutes or until the sweets are melted. Keep an eye on the sweets, make sure not to leave them in the oven to long. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool slightly or until the sweets are set and carefully lift the cookies of the baking sheet. Cool.
Sparkling wreaths
Cut the rolled dough into wreaths. When cooled, dip the top of each cookie into melted white chocolate. Allow the chocolate to set slightly and sprinkle with green sugar crystals. Place 2- 3 small red cake decorating balls or 2-3 small red M&M on each wreath. Allow to dry completely before storing them.
Sparkling stars
Cut the rolled dough into stars and bake until golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool off completely. Dip half of the cookie into melted white chocolate and allow the excess chocolate to drip off. Sprinkle with sparkling sprinkles of your choice.
Candy cane cookies
Cut the rolled dough into candy cane shapes and bake until golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool off completely. In the meantime crush 2-3 candy canes into fine pieces and set aside. Now use melted white chocolate to drizzle candy cane like stripes over each cookie. Allow the chocolate to set slightly. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes over the chocolate stripes. Allow to dry completely.
Hungry for more?
