Recipes for Christmas

Filed in archive Fun for the kids on December 20, 2006

One of my fondest memories as a child is helping my mom bake. Not only did I bond with my mother, I also felt needed and had lots of fun. Up to now, I can still remember the smell of freshly baked cookies and cakes. I can also still imagine how it was to work side by side with my mother and brother, with all my fingers covered in flour or dough.

Should you be interested to have similar memories with your own child (just like I do), why not start this season? Bake a bunch of christmas cookies with your child.

Perhaps, Frosted Holiday Sugar Cookies?

Ingredients

* 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
* 1 tsp Baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1 cup butter or margarine, softened (not melted!)
* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 tsp vanilla extract

Cooking Instructions

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter or margarine, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl with electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture and stir with wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for two hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter or other round object, such as a glass or round plastic container. Place circles 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 6-8 minutes, checking after 6 minutes. Cookies will be done when edges are lightly browned. Do not allow cookies to get too brown. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Remove from cookies sheets to aluminum foil on a flat surface and allow to cool completely.

What You Do

1. Bake your favorite sugar cookie recipe (try Amanda's Sugar Cookies, above), or purchase a package from the store.

2. Using a butter knife, spread white frosting on top of each cookie.

3. Let children decorate the cookies with sprinkles, sugar, and candies.

4. To make holly berry cookies, place two red candies or jelly beans toward the top of the cookie and draw on leaves with green decorator gel.

5. For sugar stars, trees and other shapes, gently place a miniature cookie cutter on top of the cookie after it's frosted. Carefully sprinkle a small amount of sugar into the cookie cutter with your fingers, being careful not to let the sugar fall outside. Gently remove cookie cutter.

6. You can completely cover a cookie with decorative sugar by holding the frosted cookie upside down and dipping the frosted end into the sugar to coat.

7. Use red decorator gel to write "Ho Ho Ho!" on your cookies.

8. A snowman can be made from candies and fruit roll ups. Cut a strip of fruit roll up, about ½ thick, and twist it into a rope. Place the fruit roll up around the top of the cookie as ear muffs and add jelly beans for the muffs themselves. Decorate face with colored candies.

9. Use cherry raisins to form the petals of a poinsettia. Place a colored candy in the center.

Feel like baking dozens and dozens of cookies? Then, you might as well craft some goodie bags and give them away for Christmas.