Christmas Cookies by Debra St. John

Christmas Cookies
Debra St. John
http://www.debrastjohnromance.com

For me Christmas is all about tradition. From the decorating to the shopping to the events to the gatherings, we do things the same way each and every year. That's not to say that new things aren't added, but it's those time-honored traditions that really bring warm, cozy feelings to my heart for the holidays. It's definitely too hard to choose my favorite thing about Christmas...everything about Christmas is wonderful...but one tradition I love is cookie baking.

Growing up, Grandma would always bake her cut out cookies (recipe below) for the holidays. She's gone now, but Mom has carried on the tradition and makes them every year. She even uses some of Grandma's original cookie cutters, although she's added a few of her own as well. But even though Mom is baking them these days, the first bite always brings memories of Grandma. And there's nothing sweeter than that.

Until a few years ago, the hubby and I left the baking of Christmas cookies to the Moms. On Christmas Eve and Day, we'd arrive with empty cookie tins in hand and fill them up. But for the last five or six years or so, we've been baking our own cookies as well. I haven't been brave enough to tackle Grandma's cut outs yet, but we set aside a Saturday, gather the ingredients, and spend most of the day in the kitchen baking up yummy treats. And while we have our favorites, both to eat and to bake, it's fun to see what other people consider to be favorites. The sheer variety of cookies out there never fails to amaze me.

Of course all of this cookie eating can be hard on the waistline, so we always wind up sharing some of our bounty with friends, who are always appreciative.

So from our house to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Cookie Baking!


Grandma’s Old Fashioned Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter - softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2½ cups flour
1 t baking powder
2 T orange juice
1 t vanilla


Directions:

Cream butter, sugar, and egg until light and fluffy. Beat in flour, baking powder, orange juice, and vanilla until smooth and well combined. Chill 2-3 hours or until firm enough to be rolled. Roll out dough, about 1/3 at a time, on well-floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out with cookie cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 400 degrees for 6 – 10 minutes or until golden brown on edges. Frost if desired.

Yield – 6 dozen 2 inch cookies

Note: For a crisper cookie, roll to 1/8 inch thickness. For a softer cookie, roll to ¼ inch thickness. a Rafflecopter giveaway