Christmas Cookies

Christmas Cookies.

My Aunt Marie taught me the way to bake. Growing up, each Christmas was another watch and learn session at my aunts. All my mom sisters were great bakers. Aunt Marie made a most scrumptious old-fashioned short bread sheet that would be used to do some free hand cookie cutting.

Ingredients

2 cups butter at room temperature

1 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup corn starch

3 cups fresh all-purpose flour

Maraschino cherries or baking gums for the centers, sprinkles and glitter festive colour rock sugar and what ever Xmas bling you have in your cupboard.

Instructions

Cream together the butter and icing sugar very well until very smooth and creamy. No lumps of butter should be visible.

Blend in the vanilla extract.

Sift together the flour and corn starch.

Blend slowly into the creamed mixture until a soft dough form.

Split dough into 2 equal round portions.

Wrap the dough rounds in plastic wrap and chill for a couple of hours at least.

You can freeze one of the cookie doughs portions for later if you like.

This dough will also last in the fridge for 3-4 days so that you can bake a few up at a time and enjoy them fresh from the oven if you like.

To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Roll the dough out to a little less than ¼ of an inch on a lightly floured surface. Use a 2 inch cookie cutter (or holiday shaped cookie cutters) to cut out the cookies or try free hand with the kids. Fun Wow!

Place the cookies on the parchment paper a half inch apart. Add a half maraschino or glacé cherry to the center, or a baking gumdrop if you like.

Mix some icing sugar and lemon juice and use as the sticky stuff when adding sprinkles after the blanks are baked.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until they just start to turn brown at the edges.

Let cool for 10 minutes on the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

These cookies will freeze quite well for several weeks.

Have a great Christmas Holiday!

Cheers.