Sugar Cookie Sleigh Recipes

SUGAR COOKIE SLEIGH

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Cover and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes or until easy to handle. , Trace patterns onto waxed paper, tagboard or thin cardboard; cut out. Divide dough in half. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out each portion of dough onto a greased baking sheet to 1/4-in. thickness. Position patterns on dough 2 in. apart. Using a sharp knife, cut out a sleigh front, back, base and two sides. Remove patterns. Remove dough scraps; cover and refrigerate. , Generously sprinkle one side of sleigh front, back and side pieces that will face out with green colored sugar. Leave base plain. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. , Roll out dough scraps. Using cookie cutters, cut out three 5-1/4-in. trees, one 4-in. tree, five reindeer and one Santa. Place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool., To make icing: In a large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add sugar and a few teaspoons of hot water; beat for 12-15 minutes. If too stiff, add more hot water; it too thin, add more sugar. Place a damp cloth over the bowl and cover tightly between uses. , To assemble sleigh: Test sleigh pieces to make sure they fit together snugly. If necessary, file carefully with a serrated knife or emery board to make them fit. , Insert #3 tip into pastry bag; fill two-thirds full with icing. Pipe a wide strip of icing along the outside edges of the sleigh base. Position and press the sleigh sides, sugar side out, against the icing. Prop with cans. , Pipe icing on the sides of the front and back sleigh pieces. Position front and back pieces, sugar side out, between the sides and touching the icing on the base. Prop with cans. (See Photo 1.) Pipe icing along the inside edges of the front, back and side pieces. Set aside to dry completely, about 4 hours. , To decorate sleigh: For runners, cut 3-1/2 in. from the straight end of two candy canes; set aside. Gently turn sleigh over. Ice along the bottom edges of the sides. Position candy canes, curved ends down, so the curved edges nearly touch the sleigh front. Press into icing. Place one piece of reserved cut peppermint stick on each side to complete the runners. (See Photo 2.) Set aside to dry completely, about 4 hours. , Turn sleigh right side up. Tint 2/3 cup icing with green food coloring. Use #67 tip to make a wreath on each side of sleigh. Set aside remaining green icing for the trees. Gently press three red candy-coated milk chocolate balls into each wreath for berries., To decorate deer: With brown food coloring, tint 2 tablespoons icing tan and 1 cup icing brown. Frost one side of deer brown; frost antlers tan. With a dab of brown icing, attach one brown candy-coated ball on each of four deer for the nose and one red candy-coated ball for Rudolph's nose. Using white icing, place a dot on each deer for eyes. Place one chocolate sprinkle in the center of each dot. Set aside to dry completely, about 1 hour. Set remaining brown icing aside for Santa and trees. , Place a dab of white icing on four vanilla wafers. Press the back and front legs of two deer into icing on each wafer. Prop with cans; set aside. , Place a dab of white icing on two more wafers; press back legs of two deer into icing. Cut another wafer in half and one into quarters. Place one halved wafer, cut edge down, on work surface. Prop up halved piece with a quartered piece on one or both sides; join pieces with icing. With a dab of icing, attach the front legs of the two deer to the wafer stands; prop with spice bottles. (See Photo 3.), For Rudolph, place a mound of icing in center of one wafer. Attach Rudolph's back legs to icing, rest the front legs on a small spice bottle so they are suspended 2 in. above the base. (See Photo 4.) Allow to harden. , To decorate Santa: Tint 3 tablespoons icing with red food coloring. Frost hat, jacket, pants and sack; sprinkle red colored sugar over sack. Insert #27 tip into pastry bag; fill with white icing. Pipe a star at the tip of Santa's hat. Make a zigzag design on the hat brim and jacket bottom. Frost beard; cover with coconut. Pipe a thin line down the front of jacket. Place a small dot of icing for eyes and insert a chocolate sprinkle in the center of each. With some of the reserved brown icing, frost Santa's boots. Pipe a belt and buttons with white icing and #3 tip. Place on waxed paper to harden. , To decorate gifts: Using white icing and #3 tip, pipe a ribbon and bow on each Starburst candy. Place on waxed paper to harden. , To decorate trees: Using reserved brown icing, frost the trunk of each cookie tree. Using reserved green icing, frost cookies; sprinkle with decorating sprinkles. Place on waxed paper to harden. Attach each tree to a vanilla wafer with a dab of icing (as in deer decorating instructions). Prop with cans, placing a Starburst between tree and can. , To assemble entire table decoration: Working from one corner toward the center, spread a thin layer of white icing on one-third of the display board. Position sleigh in the corner of frosted board with curved runners facing the opposite corner. Sprinkle coconut over icing and press down. , Using white icing, completely frost the remaining board. Lay wet paper towels over frosting if it begins to dry. Immediately position the two deer on flat wafers about 2 in. from the sleigh front and 2 in. from each other. Place the two deer on stands 2 in. from the first deer and 2 in. apart. , Center Rudolph 2 in. in front of second pair of deer. Return spice bottle under Rudolph's front legs until displaying. Attach trees to display board. Carefully sprinkle coconut over icing and press down. Allow to dry for 8 hours or overnight. , For the reins, cut ends of licorice piece at an angle. Place a dab of icing next to Rudolph's nose; attach the flat side of the angled licorice end to the icing, holding until stable, about 5 minutes. Attach with a dab of icing to remaining deer. Repeat. , Place licorice ends over sleigh front. Repeat on other side. In center of sleigh, attach Santa with a dab of white icing. Prop with a spice bottle until set. Fill sleigh with gifts. Place additional gifts around sleigh if desired.

SUGAR COOKIE SLICES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. , Shape into two 8-in. rolls; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm. , Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes or until set (do not brown). Remove to wire racks to cool.

SPRINKLE SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Whisk the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Beat in the vanilla, then beat in the sprinkles. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 325˚ F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough until 1/4 inch thick. (If the dough starts to crack, let it warm up for a few minutes before continuing.) Using a 2 1/2-inch fluted round cookie cutter, cut out cookies and arrange about 1 inch apart on one of the baking sheets. Gather the scraps, reroll and cut out more cookies.
• Bake until the cookies are lightly golden, about 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool 5 minutes on the pan, then remove to a rack to cool completely. Meanwhile, repeat with the remaining disk of dough.
• Make the icing: Mix the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and 3 teaspoons water, adding more water 1 teaspoon at a time until the icing is spreadable. Spread the mixed sprinkles on a plate in an even layer. Spread about 1 teaspoon icing on each cookie, then dip the cookie icing-side down in the sprinkles to coat. Let set 30 minutes.

SMASHED SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat the granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs, then continue to mix until incorporated (it's ok if the mixture looks slightly curdled). Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Reduce the mixer to medium low, then slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
• Divide the dough into 18 portions (about 2 1/2 tablespoons each), then roll between the palms of your hands into uniform balls; place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pour the sprinkles into a shallow bowl or baking dish. Roll the dough balls in the sprinkles until completely coated, then return to the baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm and chilled through, about 1 hour.
• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line one additional baking sheet with parchment.
• Place 9 chilled dough balls on each prepared baking sheet. Using a 1/3-cup measuring cup, smash the dough balls down until the edges are starting to crack and they are 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide (leave about 1/2 inch of space between each smashed cookie). If the dough starts to stick to the bottom of the measuring cup, dust with a little flour and continue smashing.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the cookies puff slightly, the centers are still soft and the bottoms are just golden brown, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Once the cookies have cooled, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and milk in a small bowl until smooth and combined (it should be thick but pourable). Transfer to a small piping bag or resealable bag, snip the tip and drizzle over the cookies. Alternatively, use a spoon to drizzle over the cookies. Return to the wire rack to set completely, about 30 minutes. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

SUGAR COOKIE ICING

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
• Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.