Growing up, decorating Christmas cookies was an annual tradition for our family. We would sit around the table and my mom would pull 5-6 tins out of the freezer filled with cookies she had made earlier in the week. Each of my parents would add frosting to a cookie and then hand it to myself or one of my three siblings to decorate, which we would have after lunch or dinner leading up to Christmas.
My Grandma Newman’s famous butter cookie recipe is perfect for Christmas cookies. These cookies are so easy to make — especially in bulk. Now that I’ve grown up, I bake these cookies every Christmas to decorate with friends or family. For more recipes on Driftwood and Iron, go here.
I’ve found sugar cookies are just way too sweet after you’ve added frosting and sprinkles or other decorations. You also want to have a cookie that doesn’t expand in the oven.
I make my frosting from scratch, but you can use whatever frosting you like. It’s about the memories, after all.
Grandma Newman’s Christmas Cookies
Equipment
- Mixer
- Roller
- Cookie cutters
- Cookie sheet
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 egg
- 3 tsp vanilla or other flavoring
- small splash milk if needed
Instructions
- Mix together the butter, sugar and egg thoroughly. Once combined, stir in vanilla or other flavoring of your choice.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Once sifted, add to the above mixture and mix until a dough forms. If the dough seems a bit dry, add a little milk. When mixing, the dough should pull away from the bowl.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Sprinkle some flour and roll out the dough and cut out cookies. (I recommend using half at a time — if the dough gets too warm and sticking to the roller, place back into the bowl and into the fridge)
- Bake cut out cookies for 5-7 minutes at 425 F. (I recommend 6 minutes, but it depends on the size and how many you are placing in at one time. You’re looking for the cookies to become barely golden brown on just the edges)
- Place finished cookies in tins and store in the freezer. Decorate the following day.
