Great-Grandma probably didn’t realize what she was doing the day she mixed up her first bowl of sugar cookies. Did she imagine that three generations later her great great grandson would be perched on a chair next to his mother, pushing cookie cutters back and forth through the flour sprinkled on the counter, sneaking little fistfuls of cookie dough made from her recipe?
I know a cookie recipe seems like a far cry from a legacy, but in a way she did leave a legacy. Because when I bite into this scrumptious sweetness, I’m instantly transported 20 years into the past, and I’m the toddler perched on the chair next to my mother. I know that when I’m frosting these cookies, hundreds of miles away my parents might be frosting the same ones. And when my dad bites into these cookies, he becomes the little boy playing with the cookie cutters while his mom rolls out dough.
Somehow, through one recipe, generations are tied together.
Perfect Cookie Cutting Tips:
- At first, generously flour the surface where you’ll be rolling out the cookie dough, and generously flour the rolling pin. You might not need as much flour as the dough gets rolled out several times and becomes less sticky.
- Don’t roll the dough out too thin or you’ll get brittle, hard cookies.
- Make a small pile of flour off to the side of the area where you’ll be rolling out dough. Before using the cookie cutters, tap them in the pile to cover the bottoms with flour. This prevents the dough from sticking to the cutters.
- After pressing the cutter into the dough, gently wiggle it back and forth, dislodging the cutter from the dough outside it and the surface below it. This ensures the cookie won’t get stuck to the dough after you remove the cutter.
Frosted Sugar Cookies
INGREDIENTS:
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 1/2 cups flour*
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 recipe butter cream frosting (see recipe below) or other decorations (sprinkles, dried fruit, etc.)
DIRECTIONS:
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and eggs
- Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add them to the large bowl alternately with milk and vanilla
- On a floured surface, roll 1/4 of the dough out evenly on a floured surface until it is about 1/8-inch thick
- Cut it out with cookie cutters (see tips above), then use a spatula to transfer to a cookie sheet
- Take leftover dough and add it to the next quarter of dough
- Repeat rolling and cutting for the remaining cookie dough
- If decorating with colored sugar and sprinkles, do that now
- Bake at 400 degrees until lightly golden along the edges (this varies from oven to oven; start with 5 minutes – Great-Grandma’s recipe says to cook them “until done”)
- Allow cookies to cool completely on a wire rack, then frost them
*If using freshly ground flour, you’ll probably have to use 4-4 1/2 cups
Buttercream Frosting
This is a classic recipe, nothing special – except that buttercream frosting is ridiculously delicious (basic recipe from Good Cheap Eats)
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk (can also use half and half, cream, whatever)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
DIRECTIONS:
- Beat butter until fluffy
- Beat in 3 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon milk and vanilla
- Add more sugar or milk as needed to achieve desired consistency
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
What is your favorite cookie recipe this season?
Cheers,
P.S. For more foodie fun, visit Tastetastic Thursday and Full Plate Thursday!
9 comments
Athena
12/14/2011 at 8:25 AM (UTC -6)
Christmas is my FAVORITE time of year!! It’s supercalafragalisticexpialadocious!!
And Christmas cookies are one of the many things that make this time of year magical. I welcome all cookies, but my favorite for this time of year are the ones that are spiced and fragrant, ones that taste and smell like this season, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, occasionally clove. But if I had to pick a favorite, I would have to say my grandma’s iced molasses cookies are the best with big, fluffy snickerdoodles coming in second. 
Dawn J
12/14/2011 at 8:39 AM (UTC -6)
Steph, I just wanted to say that I REALLY enjoy your posts…. You communicate love, joy and peace!
When you share your meaningful experiences… rather than make me long for the ‘missed’ experiences of my childhood… your sharings make me want to offer those same, loving, quality experiences and memories to my family and beyond…
I just wanted to say Thank you to you… and to your previous generations..
Very grateful… dawn
Steph
12/14/2011 at 10:37 AM (UTC -6)
Dawn J – Thank you – that means a lot.
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy
12/14/2011 at 11:39 AM (UTC -6)
I love this post, Steph! Sometimes a recipe is much more than the sum of its parts.
mama
12/15/2011 at 9:50 AM (UTC -6)
We will be making these tomorrow. It isn’t Christmas for papa without these cookies. Love the sweet pictures with the Ray-man. Can’t wait for him to make “crysps” with us this year.
I love reading your posts. I am a little biased…..but I just love the way you write. Thank you for sharing it
Steph
12/15/2011 at 10:20 AM (UTC -6)
mama – Yay, haha, since you homeschooled me I’m sure it’s reassuring for both of us that you like my writing
Kimberly
12/15/2011 at 7:51 PM (UTC -6)
Love sugar cookies! My mom always used a powdered sugar/flour mixture for rolling out dough as it kept the dough from losing it’s sweetness if you used too much flour. Delicious!
Amy @ A Little Nosh
12/17/2011 at 12:36 PM (UTC -6)
Thanks for sharing at A Little Nosh. You’re featured this week!
http://www.alittlenosh.net/2011/12/weekend-spotlight-13.html
Miz Helen
12/19/2011 at 10:45 AM (UTC -6)
Hi Steph,
Your little helper is just precious and those cookies look awesome! Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen