Description
These delightful Christmas Sugar Cookie Ornaments are a festive treat perfect for holiday celebrations. Soft, sweet, and beautifully decorated with royal icing, they make both a delicious snack and a charming edible decoration. With a simple dough enhanced by vanilla and almond extracts, these cookies are easy to bake and fun to customize.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
Decoration
- Royal icing for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) to ensure it’s ready for baking once the dough is prepared.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and baking powder, mixing thoroughly to evenly distribute the leavening agents.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a separate large bowl, use a mixer to cream together the softened unsalted butter and white sugar until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, which will help give the cookies a tender texture.
- Add Eggs and Extracts: Beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla and almond extracts, incorporating them fully into the creamed butter and sugar mixture for flavor.
- Combine Mixtures: Gradually add the dry flour mixture into the wet mixture, mixing slowly until combined to form a consistent dough.
- Adjust Dough Consistency: Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of milk as needed to achieve a dough that is soft but not sticky, making it easier to roll out.
- Roll and Cut Dough: Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Use ornament-shaped cookie cutters to cut out shapes for a festive look.
- Place on Cookie Sheets: Arrange the cut cookies on ungreased cookie sheets to bake evenly and develop a slightly crisp edge.
- Bake: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden, ensuring they remain soft inside.
- Cool and Decorate: Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack before decorating with royal icing to add festive designs and details.
Notes
- Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature for easier creaming and better cookie texture.
- If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour carefully until manageable.
- Rolling the dough to 1/4 inch thickness helps ensure the cookies bake evenly without becoming too crunchy.
- Royal icing can be prepared ahead of time and stored in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
- To create hanging cookie ornaments, use a straw to punch a small hole in the top of each cookie before baking.
- Storing cookies in an airtight container keeps them fresh for up to a week.
