Mom’s Sugar Cookies

Cookies for Santa

To me, the taste of Christmas is the taste of my mom’s sugar cookies.  Every year for the holiday, my mom would make a big batch of sugar cookies to decorate and eat.  Myself and my siblings would get a sheet of wax paper filled with cookies  for us to decorate with jars of icing and all the Christmas colored sprinkles.  Those cookies would be set out for guests and, of course, the best ones were left for Santa Claus, with a glass of milk and a few carrots for the reindeer.

Now as an adult, the smell and taste of these sugar cookies is synonymous with Christmas.  I take a bite of  the dough and I’m brought straight back to my mom dividing the leftover dough between my sister and to eat while the cookies were in the oven. I set up my kitchen table just like my mom did, with wax paper sheets filled with cookies and armed with bags of frosting and sprinkles. And boxes of cookies are shared with friends and family throughout the holiday season. It’s truly not Christmas without these cookies.

Recipe Details

This recipe has been a classic with my family for generations for a reason. They’re as easy to make as they are tasty. Unlike other cookie doughs, there’s very little concern with overworking this one.  You can roll it out and re-roll it as many times as you need without getting tough cookies! In my mom’s cookbook, the recipe is “add the ingredients in the order shown and bake for 10-12 minutes!  I’ve detailed it out a bit more, but really, as long as you have everything measured, you practically have these cookies made!   Starting with the butter and sugar, you’ll need to incorporate them together well before adding the eggs, followed by the dry ingredients.  Another difference with this recipe is the milk and vanilla go in last, almost as the final binding agent.  Before that, the dough can look a bit crumbly, but using your hands to incorporate the milk and vanilla will leave you with dough that’s ready to be rolled!  Just chill it for half an hour to get  the butter a bit more solid, and you’ll be ready to go! The simple vanilla flavor of these cookies is what really sings, so lately I like to pair a simple vanilla icing to go with it!   Powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a bit of  water is all you need to make a delicious frosting that easily pipes or drizzles on to the cookies with ease! I hope you have the merriest of Christmases with all the cookies and family traditions you look forward to! Happy Holidays!