Christmas is my hands down, without a doubt, most favorite time of year. There’s magic in the air — from the sights to the sounds and smells, I love it all! Speaking of smells…every year I bake a few dozen sugar cookies. This recipe for easy sugar cookies is a family favorite and this year our almost 2-year-old was able to actually help, and with his sister there to supervise the decorating.
This was our daughter’s very first Christmas! Last year our son “helped,” aka I held him and he pressed the button to start the KitchenAid, ha. This Christmas, though, he sat in his high chair and actually decorated a few of the cookies. And being a boy after his momma’s heart, he probably ate more than he decorated.
These cookies are flavorful, without being overly sweet. I love that they’re a bit crispy, but also chewy. The dough makes about five to six dozen. I make these a couple days before Christmas, and they’re usually almost all eaten by the 26th!
Easy Sugar Cookies Recipe Below:
INGREDIENTS: (Makes 5 to 6 Dozen)
- 5 cups flour
- 4 eggs, whisked
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Zest from half a large lemon
EASY SUGAR COOKIES FROSTING
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1-2 tablespoon milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
*If your frosting is still too thick, add a bit more milk — but go slowly as too much liquid will keep frosting from setting
EASY ALMOND/RASPBERRY SUGAR COOKIES FROSTING
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
- 1-2 tablespoon raspberry jam
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
*If your frosting is still too thick, add a bit more jam to taste — but go slowly as too much liquid will keep frosting from setting
DIRECTIONS:
*Dough needs to be chilled for at least 3 hours or overnight in the freezer.
1. Use mixer to cream butter and sugar. (I use level 2 on mixer.)
2. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest.
3. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and sea salt.
4. Then slowly fold in dry ingredients with wet.
5. Divide the dough into 4 quarters, flatten, cover with saran wrap and chill in freezer overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
7. Sprinkle flour on your workspace and roll out one disk of dough to 1/4-1/2 inch thick. This creates a cookie that’s a bit on the crispy side, but still chewy. (Also, you’ll need to keep re-flouring your space as the dough is sticky. Another thing to keep in mind is the dough is easier to roll out when cool, so take one disk out of freezer at a time.)
8. Use favorite cookie cutters to make cookies and place an inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Depending on how many cookies you plan to make, continue until all dough finished. One disk usually makes about 12 to 18 cookies. You can keep the rest of the dough in the freezer and use on another occasion.
9. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until cookies start to slightly brown on edges. Watch carefully because they will turn from perfectly baked to burnt in matter of seconds.
10. Make your frosting while cookies cool by combining powdered sugar, heavy cream, milk and vanilla. This is enough to cover two dozen cookies. In recent years I experimented with using an almond/raspberry frosting and it really took the flavor combination of the cookies to a whole other level. If you go this route, the cookies will need to sit for a bit longer for the frosting to set and not smudge.
11. Color frosting with the food dye of your choice, decorate, and enjoy!
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