Christmas Lights Sugar Cookies Recipes

CHRISTMAS CUTOUT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a bowl, stir together flour and baking powder. In another bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy and light. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, a third at a time to make a stiff dough. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll out a portion of cookie dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Place on lightly greased or nonstick cookie sheets. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minute, rotating baking sheet halfway through cooking time. Cool completely on pans about 5 minutes, transfer to cooling racks and cool completely before decorating.
• In a small bowl, mix sugar and water to form a thick, smooth icing. Stir in food coloring to reach desired shade. Drop icing onto cookies using a small teaspoon and smooth with the back of the spoon. Make additional bowls for additional colors.
• Additional multi-colored sprinkles can be added on top of icing before it dries for more decorative cookies, if desired.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. In another bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Shape into a disk; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 4-in. Christmas light-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 9-11 minutes or until light brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a small bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and enough water to reach desired consistency. Reserve 2/3 cup frosting for bottom of cookies and reflections. Divide remaining frosting between four bowls. Tint one red, one blue, one green and one yellow. Frost tops of cookies. If desired, sprinkle with colored sugar. Tint half of the reserved frosting gray; frost bottom of cookies. With remaining white frosting and a #5 round tip, pipe on reflections. Let stand until completely set., To Make Ahead: Dough can be made 2 days in advance. Wrap and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator., Freeze option: Freeze undecorated cookies in freezer containers. To use, thaw in covered containers and decorate as desired.

SUGAR COOKIES (LIGHT & CRISP)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream together 1/2 cup granulated sugar, powdered sugar, butter, and vegetable oil.
• Beat in egg and extract.
• Add next 4 ingredients and mix together. The dough will be somewhat soft. Refrigerate a few minutes if too soft to work with.
• Shape into 1-inch balls and roll in reserved 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.
• Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in granulated sugar (or colored sugar if you prefer).
• Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes.
• Note: Cookies should be only very slightly browned. They will be a more of a light golden color.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill in the freezer for 25 minutes or until easy to handle., For lights: On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. light-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using a plastic straw, make a hole 1/2 in. from the top of each cookie., Bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Use a plastic straw to reopen holes in cookies. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., For Santas: Roll remaining dough directly on an ungreased baking sheet into an 11x8-in. rectangle. Cut lengthwise into two strips, but do not separate. Cut each strip into seven triangles (do not separate)., Bake at 350° for 10-13 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes; cut around cookies to separate. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely., To decorate: Microwave corn syrup for 6-8 seconds or until thinned. Working with a few cookies at a time, brush corn syrup over the surface. For lights, decorate with sprinkles as desired. Thread licorice through holes., For Santas, press coconut onto faces for beards. Attach chocolate chips for eyes and baking bits for noses. For hats, coat top of cookie with sprinkles; attach marshmallow halves for pom-poms.

LIGHT SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Adjust oven racks to middle postion, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil or parchment paper.
• Whisk the flours, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and one cup of the sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 min.,scraping down the sides as needed. Add the egg and vanilla (and 2 tsp.lemon zest or 1/2 tsp.almond extract) and continue to beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 to 60 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat until combined, about 30 to 60 seconds more.
• Place remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a shallow bowl, (with optional lemon zest or almonds.) Working with a level tablespoon of dough each time, roll the dough into balls. (If the dough is too soft refrigerate until firm.) Roll the balls in the sugar and place on baking sheet 2 1/2 inches apart. (12 cookies to a sheet).
• Bake cookies, one tray at a time until edges are golden and centers are just set. (Don't overbake.).
• Cool cookies onthe baking sheets for 5 minutes and serve warm or transfer to wire rack to cool completely.