Tasty Tuesday and Grandma’s Roll-Out Christmas Cookies

Happy Tasty Tuesday! I am so excited to share with you possibly the tastiest cookie ever, just in time for Christmas! My Grandma’s Roll-Out Christmas Cookies! I come from a large family, and as kids, this was by far our favorite treat of the year! They are so good, and it is my great privilege and honor to share this recipe with you which I got from my Grandmother. She truly was the sweetest and kindest person I’ve ever known, and it would delight her to know I’m sharing this with you!

But first I would like to take a moment and thank my very dear friend Maribeth Schmidt for the finished shots in this post. She is so talented and creative, and I love working with her! If you would like to see more of her work, you can inquire at Maribeth Schmidt Photography.

And now, lets begin!

Ingredients:

Cookie Dough:

  • 2 sticks of butter & 2 sticks of margarine, softened *Note you can use all butter, Grandma says using a little of both butter and margarine gave the cookie a great flavor and texture.
  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 6 cups of flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda

Frosting:

  • 4 cups confectioner sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 4 Tbsp Water (will add additional water to desired consistency)
  • Food coloring

To begin with, put your butter/margarine, sugar & eggs in large mixing bowl, and mix.

Add in vanilla and mix.

In separate bowl, put your flour and baking soda and mix together with a whisk. Gradually add the flour mixture to your butter/sugar/egg/vanilla batter. I use the mixer until about the last 1/4 of the flour and then its a little too thick, so I use a strong spoon and even my hands.

Once its all combined, form maybe 4 balls of dough and wrap tightly in wax paper and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. The dough balls will be about the size of a softball.

When you are ready to bake: Preheat the oven to 350°. You need a large surface to roll out your dough. You can use a Pastry Board (these make a great bridal shower gift!) Or I use my granite countertop.

The dough will be sticky and cold. So you will want to keep a nice bowl of flour on hand. Sprinkle the flour on your surface and smear it around so your dough won’t stick to it. Rub some on your rolling pin.

Warm the dough in your hands for a few minutes. This will make it pliable. Then start to roll the dough. At first it will look like you are barely flattening that ball of dough out, but don’t give up. Its a gradual process. Every now and then add a little more flour on your rolling pin so the dough won’t stick. Gently and persistently roll with gentle pressure. And soon that dough will be nice and smooth. I make mine about 1/4 – 1/3 inch thick.

Grab your cookie cutter (I would dip it in the flour bowl too so the dough won’t stick) and press in the dough. I use a spatula to transfer it to the cookie sheet. Sometimes the dough stays in the cutter… just move it over your cookie sheet and press it through.

I do about 6-8 cookies per sheet. No need to grease the pan.

Pop them in the oven, and after about 6-7 minutes, take a peak and see if the edges are starting to get golden. That is when I pull them out. Its nice if they can remain just a little on the soft side, it really works nicely with the flavor of the cookie. The aroma of these cookies is absolutely heavenly!

Once your cookies are baked, you are ready to frost them! I clean up the flour/rolling mess and get ready for the decorating. I personally use newspapers to frost on. You could use wax paper too.

Combine your frosting ingredients, (the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and water). This is going to be pretty thick, and have sort of a cream color. Keep stirring in water a tablespoon at a time until you get to your desired consistency. I like it so it sort of drizzles as it comes off the spoon as seen below.

Now, take 4 cups or bowls (I use disposable cups), divide the frosting, and add 4 drops of food coloring to each cup.

If you like your colors really strong, add 5 or 6 drops, and if you like the colors softer, just add 3 drops.

I use plastic knives too. Stir the coloring into the frosting.

And now just start frosting those cookies! The whole family can get in on this! You can also use the little sprinkles if you like. This year we went a little more simple, no sprinkles. But sprinkles can be a lot of fun!

You will see I experimented a bit with white piping. Wilton makes a bottle of cookie icing with the perfect tip on the bottle. Its the first time I ever tried it, and it was kind of fun, and the taste is very nice. They also make it in red and green. I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond (they were out of red and green, I will start earlier next year!) But honestly, the real flavor is in the cookies and the frosting recipe above.

You can see in the picture above some of the cookies are a little darker than others… I left them in the oven a little longer by accident. but they are still delicious! Store them in an air tight container, and as you fill the tub with the cookies, separate each layer with a piece of wax paper so your frosting stays as pretty on the bottom layer of cookies as it is on the top!

One of my favorite tips for storing these cookies, add a slice of bread in the tub before you seal it, and the cookies will draw the moisture from the bread keeping them nice and soft!

This recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies depending on how big your cookie cutters are, and how thick you roll the dough. And now its time to serve them up!

These are such a cheerful cookie! They just make you smile!

Yumm! And a nice tall glass of icy cold milk or a hot cup of coffee…

The hard part is… which one should I pick?

I mean… I really like the angels…

But that stocking is really cute!

Or a yellow star? Its the Christmas star, maybe I should go for that one? They really are fun!

They bring out the kid in all of us! Oh good! More coffee! Grab a cup and a cookie, my friend!

I literally baked these cookies in the pictures yesterday morning. And as I stood there warming the dough in my hands before I rolled it out, I thought of how the dough becomes more pliable just by the warmth. People are the same way. We all need some warmth, kindness and love. This season above all is when the world longs for love. Here is where the miracle comes in. Its like a mystery, the more we give love and kindness to others, the more it seems to fill that longing in our own hearts for love.

A little thing like a plate of cheerful cookies to simply bring a smile to someone you know it would bless, I guarantee it will fill your heart to overflowing! The same is true for a phone call to someone just to say “Merry Christmas”, you could simply try and call one person a day (or two or three) and just say “I wanted to call you up and see how you are doing and just wish you a Merry Christmas!” Don’t you know it will bless that person so much! Take a look at those contacts on your phone… who could use a little Christmas cheer?

Christmas really is a miraculous season. It can take us right out of the stormy seas of life for a time where we put that aside and simply extol love and goodwill towards everyone.There is a line in the song “O Holy Night”, that says “a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices”. Its so true! “And now these three remain, faith, hope and love… and the greatest of these is love!” Isn’t it a blessing to be doing this life together? I am glad to be on this big blue marble at this point in time with you!

I’ll be back Friday for another Fashion Friday.

Merry Christmas, my friend!

Love Always,

Amy

“Christmas, my child, is love in action.”  ~Dale Evans

 

 

 

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