This, of course, is the type of cookies they actually eat in the North Pole, at least according to Norman Rockwell, the definitive brand of sweet to leave for Old Saint Nick to ensure maximum gift efficiency.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
w Buttery and sweet–but not too sweet, a soft texture, and icing that sets for a satisfying contrast, this is the only Christmas sugar cookie recipe you’ll ever need. The icing mimics the look of a royal icing, but it’s insanely easy to whip together while the cookies are cooling. Don’t skimp on the chilling time for the dough — keeping the butter and dough cold will prevent the cookies from spreading when you bake them, ensuring a perfect texture and shape. Trust in the low bake time–I kept wanting to let the cookies bake longer and longer, because they simply didn’t seem ready, but they were. 4 minutes will provide a very soft texture; 5 will harden the cookies up a bit, while leaving a tenderness; and 6.. well.. I didn’t get there. I’m assuming they’ll be much crunchier, and if that’s your bag, go for it.
How To Make the Icing
For icing, I volleyed between dipping the faces of the cookies in my little icing bowl and painting the frosting on. The cookies often created a suction with the icing, pulling them inwards when I tried to lift them out of the icing, and because they’re soft, I worried they might break. For the thicker cookies (I’m not one for exactness in rolling out dough!), dipping was totally fine; for the thinner cookies made from pieced-together scraps, I definitely used a painting method. I found it easiest to drop a little spoonful of icing on the center of the cookie and then use a pastry brush to paint outwards from there. For the blue, I set aside a little bowl of naked icing and mixed in just one little drop of a blue food coloring. I then spooned the blue icing into a small Ziploc bag and nicked the very corner off, using it as a makeshift mini-piping bag. I have no patience for intricate decorating, so don’t blame the cookies if you’re more of a cookie artist! Blame me. I liked the sort of whimsical touch that came through, though, despite my underdeveloped cookie decorating skills. Tips for Success I don’t have many cookie cutters, so I used an approximately 3.25″ circle cutter, which happened to produce cookies that fit beautifully stacked in a 4 cup Ziplock reusable container. I stuck little scraps of parchment in between each to keep the icing looking tops. Make these! They’re so good.
