đ¶ Itâs the most wonderful time of the year…đ¶ Cookie time!! We can bake sweets galore and not feel guilty about it. Give them as gifts, nibble a few while you address cards, or just enjoy that wonderful feeling you have thinking about how blessed we truly are, despite the challenges we face.

These charming cookies are just the thing to spread some holiday cheer. This time I used a recipe from Willams-Sonoma that came with a cookie cutter set, sometime in the past.
They are a bit thicker than I typically make them, but I will admit they are sturdier and held their shape well while baking. *TIP! I learned that if you roll the dough out directly on a silpat sheet (no flour needed), and cut the cookies there, you can just remove the excess and pop the silpat on a baking sheet) and into the oven. This makes for less handling of the cookies, but the best part is that you can easily re-roll the scraps to cut more cookies, and not have all the extra flour from rolling!!

Hereâs the recipe, it was super easy!
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose glour
- 1/4 tsp baking oowder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 12 T (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp, cut into pieces
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 1egg
- Royal icing (recipe below)
- Sprinkles, sugars, candy decorations
- In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between. Mix until just combined.
- Form dough into a ball and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or as long as overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or use Silpat nonstick liners.
- On a slightly floured surface (or directly on Silpat), cut out cookie shapes. Space cookies about an inch apart and bake until just golden around the edges, about +/- 10-12 minutes. Cool on Pan for 5 minutes and remove to cooling rack. Decorate as desired. Makes about 12-18 cookies (more if you roll them on the Silpat!).

Royal Icing
- 2 1/4 cups confectionersâ sugar, sifted
- 2 egg whites (or equivalent meringue powder & water)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla, or other flavored extract, I used peppermint
- 1/4 tsp cream of tarter
With an electric mixer, beat egg whites until they get foamy, add sugar, vanilla, and cream of tarter. Beat on high speed until the mixture is glossy and stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Use immediately, or store covered tightly with plastic wrap at room temp for up to 6 hours. (It will last longer if you used meringue powder instead of egg whites). Divide into several bowls and tint with food coloring. Have fun!

This is a fun project, that can be done in one day, or spread over a couple. Beware, there are always sprinkles and icing in the strangest places afterwardsđ
Happy holidays!!
