Soft Sugar Cookies For A Very Merry Christmas

Sugar cookies are a traditional Christmas cookie in our family.  I make them every year for the holidays.  And before me, my mother and grandmother made them every year for the holidays too.

What would Christmas be without them?  Disappointing…

These cookies are soft, sweet, and addicting.  Seriously, if you think you can eat just one you’re only fooling yourself.

Soft Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter (or margarine) softened

2 eggs

1 c. granulated sugar

1 c. light brown sugar

1 c. sour cream

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

5 c. flour

In a large bowl, cream butter, eggs, and sugars together.  Add sour cream, vanilla, baking soda, and salt; mix completely.  Mix in one cup of flour at a time.  When all ingredients are completely blended cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to about 1/4” thick (don’t roll too thin) and cut out cookies with cookie cutters.  Place on parchment lined cookie sheets about 2” apart.  Bake for about 8 minutes, or until cookies are slightly firm to the touch. 

Move cookies to baking racks and let cool completely before frosting with your favorite buttercream icing.

I think it’s the brown sugar and sour cream that make these cookies extra special.  Try making them and let me know what you think.

Wishing Everyone A Very Merry Christmas!

Lemon Melt Away Cookies

With a few lemons rolling around in bottom of  the refrigerator drawer that needed to be used up, and the urge to bake, I did a quick search on-line for something lemony to make.  Thinking along the lines of cookies actually helped narrow my search down.

I found a lot of recipes for lemon cookies that called for a lemon cake mix but I didn’t have such great luck finding a lemon cookie recipe made from scratch.   I eventually found a delicious looking recipe from Landolakes.com that fit the bill – with a few changes of course.

I transformed their cookie, described as “crisp and tender”, into a soft and tender cookie – just the way I like them.  I also made a vanilla buttercream frosting for my batch of cookies, whereas they made a lemon glaze for theirs.

My version of the recipe appears below. Follow the Land O Lakes link above to find their recipe and check out their cool website.  It’s one you’ll want to add to your favorites!  (*This is just my opinion – Land O Lakes did not compensate me to say this.)

Lemon Melt Away Cookies

1/2 c. margarine, softened

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 c. lemon juice (about 3 large lemons)

1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

3 c. all-purpose flour

Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, margarine, eggs, sugar, and lemon juice.  Add cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; mix thoroughly.  Add flour one cup at a time mixing well between each addition. 

Drop by spoonful on prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 6 minutes, or until cookie is a light golden color.  Remove from oven an allow to cool before transferring to a cooling rack. 

Frost when completely cool.  For a hint of color I topped mine with Pearls.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

2 tbsp. butter, softened

1 tsp. clear vanilla extract

2 c. powdered sugar

1-2 drops of milk

In a large bowl, add softened butter and vanilla; mix thoroughly.  Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.  Add a drop or two of milk to get frosting to your desired consistency while mixing.  Beat until smooth and creamy.

I’ve had several people ask me about getting your frosting to the right  consistency.  Here are a few of my tips. 

1. Always soften the butter before mixing up a frosting, but don’t melt the butter.  Melting is bad! 

2. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time; beat thoroughly after adding.  If the frosting seems to stiff, add a drop of milk to thin it, but be careful not to add too much milk at once.  A little milk goes a long ways.

3. Add vanilla extract before adding and mixing final cup of powdered sugar.

4.  Beat for 1-2 minutes for best results. 

5.  If the texture isn’t to your liking carefully add a bit more sugar, or a bit more milk – which ever you need to get to your desired consistency.

These cookies will melt in your mouth.  You will hear oohs and ahs from the lucky tasters of them!