Christmas Cookie Dough

Today I make 4 batches of my grandmother's (Nama's) sugar cookie dough.  Two batches with go in a freezer bag (wrapped in wax paper first) and into the freezer until I have more time to bake. And two batches will become holiday shapes like trees, stars,bells and sweaters. After baking and cooling, I will freeze them too.  The day I am ready to decorate them, it will take just an hour or so on the counter and they will be room temperature and ready to frost.

I do a lot of baking this time of year (and know a lot of cookie eaters!) so this is the best way for me to get ahead.  All of my Thanksgiving side dishes will be made on Wednesday.  Today, we bake!


Nama's Old-Fashioned Rolled Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

Cream butter in mixing bowl. Beat in sugar, egg, milk & vanilla. Add flour, salt & baking powder. Mix well. Divide dough in half and wrap in waxed paper. Chill in refrigerator at least one hour. Use plenty of flour on board, rolling pin & cookie cutters to prevent sticking. Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Bake at 375* on an ungreased cookie sheet for 5-8 minutes.

Nama's Cookie Frosting
Mix 2 Tablespoons of hot water to 1 cup powdered sugar. Mix with knife. Tint with a drop or two of liquid food coloring. Note: Using hot water makes the frosting shiny. Add hot water as needed to perfect consistency.