We did it! We finally had a successful attempt at baking Christmas cookies last week. While I love cooking for our family and my kids love helping out in the kitchen, I’ve never had much success in the baking cookies from scratch department. Until now.
I have had this recipe for soft Christmas cut-out cookies saved for a while now, a while meaning two years or more. We finally got around to trying out the recipe, and it’s a keeper for sure. The recipe was really easy to follow and the dough was easy to work with, which has been the hardest problem for me in the past. Not only were they great for Christmas, but this recipe would be great for cookies any time decorated to your specifications.
During JL’s nap time we started the process. I’ve learned from cooking with my kids that it’s usually best to do things in stages. It makes the whole experience better for everyone, maybe mostly me! I’ve also learned to have them at the counter one at a time with a recipe like this instead of everyone clamoring to watch the mixer and asking whose turn it is to do the next ingredient.
So Arthur started with the wet ingredients then Thomas followed with the dry, each happy with his assignment. I then took over to mix the two together and form the dough and we waited a few hours for it to chill in the refrigerator.
It worked out nicely that the recipe called for working with half the dough at a time too. This way they each got their own ball of dough to work with and their “own” pan of cookies to bake. Luckily JL napped a little longer than usual so we were able to get the cookies cut out and baked before he woke up. From the time they went in the oven, they must have asked every 30 seconds when it was time to decorate the cookies. Patience isn’t easy for a 6 and 4 year old when cookies are involved!
The icing was equally easy to make. All I had on hand was a small pack of food coloring from the grocery store. Next time we try this I will consider purchasing a better quality food coloring that will give a richer color. But they didn’t seem to mind.
Naturally, by the time nap time was over, it was time for the decorating to begin. We moved the whole production to the kitchen table and JL may have eaten half a container of raisins to keep him occupied while I helped them with the icing. While our final product isn’t as pretty as the ones Nikki posted on her blog, I was pretty darn impressed with how they turned out.
They were so delicious and we all enjoyed them. We shared some with neighbors and grandparents and ate too many ourselves. The boys had such a good time with this recipe. I think we may have found a new tradition!
