Nuts for Sugar Cookies

There are so many wonderful things about the holidays: being with family and friends, remembering all of life's blessings, festive decorations, kindness and good cheer, and one of everybody's favorites, baking.

I've never been much of a foodie, even when I was little. I think there are less foods that I like than things I won't eat. It's mostly a texture thing, but I also don't like the smell of meat. (I know, kind of crazy.) But there is one thing I've always loved: sweets... candy, cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream.

When I was growing up, one of my favorite things to do was decorating sugar cookies with my mom. We would make cookies for Halloween, Easter, and Christmas, along with events that called for treats to be shared with others. I remember being so jealous of how creative my mom was with decorating her cookies- they always looked so perfect!

When my mom came to visit me a few weeks ago, I thought it would be appropriate to have decorated sugar cookies with a fall theme (this was part of the theme of her gift basket, which I forget to take pictures of- go figure!). Below is the recipe my mom has used for over twenty years.

Sugar Cookies for Decorating

Ingredients

-1 cup soft butter

-1/2 cup sugar

-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

-3 cups flour

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

-1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Directions

Mix together sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla. Set aside. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add gradually to butter mixture, blending well. Add lemon juice and rind. Wrap in wax paper and chill. Roll out dough and cut into shapes. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 8 minutes. Decorate!

I think what makes this recipe stands out is the addition of the lemon juice and lemon rind. You don't need to use fresh juice or rind. I actually prefer using prepackaged lemon juice and dried lemon rind. This recipe makes about 4 dozen, depending on how think you like your cookies.

When decorating the sugar cookies, I recommend using Wilton's coloring dyes instead of the red, yellow, blue, and green liquid droppers you get at the grocery store. Although the liquid coloring does the job, the pastes create colors that are much more rich. For example, when decorating this batch of cookies, I was able to make several shades of orange, red, and brown to make the leaves look more realistic.

Other things needed for decorating:

-flat spreaders (a.k.a. butter knives)

-toothpicks

-wax paper

-plastic bags

-colored sugar, sprinkles, etc.

-other candies to put onto the cookies

I use the plastic bags to pipe frosting. You can put a small amount into the bag, cut a small hole in the corner of the bag (I emphasize SMALL- you can always cut the hole bigger if you need to, but you can't 'make a big hole smaller) , and gently squeeze the bag for piping. Toothpicks are another staple. I use them to marbleize two or more colors together. *Note: I forgot to buy toothpicks at the grocery store (not just once but several times), so I used plastic forks as a substitute. Toothpicks are better by far, but if you don't have anything else (and are too lazy to go to the store), plastic forks are okay, too.

The frosting is really simple: powdered sugar and water. Just add water (a little at a time) to a large amount of powdered sugar until you have the right consistency.

Look at all of the colors!

Below are instructions on how to marbleize the frosting:

Frost the sugar cookie with a regular coat of frosting (but slightly on the thin side)

Use a toothpick, bag, spreader, or fork to carefully place lines across the cookie horizontally or vertically.



Use a toothpick (the jank option: a plastic fork) to draw lines in the opposite direction that the second color is spread. (Note: Don't put too much pressure on the toothpick because you can end up with a line with no frosting down the cookie.) *Note: You can draw lines in just one direction, but alternating directions also looks good.

The finished product!

Here are some more pictures of the cookies I decorated....

I thought the acorns turned out to be really cute, but...

The squirrels were even better! The eyes are made of sugar- found them by accident at the grocery store.

I am a messy cook!

I got all of my cookie cutters at Home Goods, which is next to the Target where I shop here in Rhode Island. If you're reading this from Indy, there is a Home Goods in Castleton. Although things can be a little random, they have a pretty good selection of, you guessed it, things for your home. The kitchen/cooking section is fairly large, and they have some cute holiday decorations. The set I got had a squirrel, an acorn, a pumpkin, and several kinds of leaves. While I was there, I found a set of cookie cutters that look like Christmas ornaments- can't wait to use them in December!

Let me know what you think of the cookies if you make the recipe! I promise you won't be disappointed!

Here's a sneak preview of some of the other cookies I'll make in the coming year...