Baking Sugar Cookies: Day 1 of 25 Days of Christmas

Baking sugar cookies during the holiday season is a Christmas tradition in my family. I fondly remember baking sugar cookies with my mom every December and then eating those cookies throughout the month. Sometimes I even carefully packed up sugar cookies to bring to my teachers at school. I am now so excited to be able to share a wonderful Christmas tradition with my daughter. I hope that she has as much fun baking sugar cookies with me as I had (and still have) with my mom.

To kick off the 25 Days of Christmas on The Parenting Patch, here is the recipe that my mom and I always follow to bake sugar cookies during the holiday season.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of white sugar
• 1 cup of butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 egg
• 2 1/3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• colored sugar

Directions

1. Mix together the sugar and butter.
2. Add the vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and egg.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda.
4. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients.
5. Cover the sugar cookie dough and place in the refrigerator for at least three hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 350°.
7. Roll the sugar cookie dough in a fourth-inch sheet on a floured surface.
8. Cut the dough using holiday cookie cutters.
9. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet.
10. Decorate with colored sugar.
11. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden.
12. Allow the cookies to cool slightly before removing from the cookie sheet.
13. Allow the cookies to cool thoroughly.
14. Store the sugar cookies in an airtight container.

If you want to bake a double or triple batch of sugar cookies, simply place the cooled cookies in a container and freeze for easy storage. To thaw, simply place a frozen cookie on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for ten to twenty seconds. Merry Christmas and happy baking!

Image Credits

Christmas Sugar Cookies © 2011 Heather Johnson