Christmas Cookies: Part 1

What a day! Not only have I baked off over 125 cookies today, I finished my Christmas shopping, and gathered all the groceries for our Christmas Eve Meal! Getting up early to beat the crowds to the mall and the grocery store was definitely the way to go!

But anyway, on to more important things.... cookies!!!!!

Don't they look yummy! These cookies have been my all time favorite sugar cookie recipe EVER! The recipe comes from a family friend, Maggie! Maggie and her husband, Bob, used to live right across the street from us when I was little, and she frequently took care of me. I remember helping her make these cookies as a little girl, and to this day I make a point to make a batch every December. They are SO fun to make and so vibrant with the colored sprinkles on top!

I just also recently learned that the sugar cookie recipe has been around for many years in Maggie's family. It actually came from Maggie's mother's Hungarian next door neighbor! Needless to say, I am very grateful the next door neighbor shared her recipe, because the cookies are absolutely delicious!

Print this recipe!

Maggie's Sugar Cookie Recipe


Ingredients

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup butter/ margarine, softened
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tarter
• 4 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• Colored sugar 

Directions

1. Cream the butter and sugars together in a stand mixer on medium speed until light, fluffy, and smooth.
2. Add the oil, eggs, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, sift all of the dry ingredients together.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture and mix by hand with a wooden spoon.
5. If the dough is too wet, refrigerate dough until it is a little stiffer and will roll easily into balls.
6. Take about 1 tablespoon worth of the dough and roll into a ball. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.
7. Press colored sugar into dough (explanation below).
8. Bake cookies at 375 degrees for 6 - 8 minutes. Cookies will have barely any brown color.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Now the fun part... adding the sprinkles!

For this, you will need a flat bottomed glass and a bowl for your colored sugar. I usually have a set up that looks like this:

I like to use a separate glass for every sprinkle color. So, by now you should have rolled out your little dough balls and placed them on the cookie sheet. Pour your colored sugar out into two small bowls wide enough so that your glasses can rest in them. 

Before you use your glasses, press the bottom of the glasses into the prepared cookie dough, so they are a little sticky/ tacky on the bottom. That way, when you put your glass in the sugar bowl, the sprinkles will stick to it!

With your sugar stuck to the bottom of the glass, next flatten your little round dough balls into flat disks. The sugar will now be sticking to the top of the cookie! For visual learning:

Repeat the process until all your cookies are pressed out. Then you are ready to bake! They are super fast and only take about 7 minutes in the oven!

Delicious! And don't worry, I'll tell you all what those yummy chocolate cookies are too!

Happy Holidays!