Here is some holiday cookie vocabulary you might want to learn to sweeten your day:<\/p>\n
cookie dough<\/strong> – a mixture of flour and liquid, used for baking<\/p>\n frosting or icing<\/strong> – a sweet mixture consisting primarily of sugar and sometimes butter, which is a coating for cookies and cakes<\/p>\n decorating<\/strong> – making something (in this case cookies) look more attractive by adding ornament<\/p>\n sprinkles<\/strong> – colored sugar used for decorating<\/p>\n cookie cutter<\/strong> – a small metal sharp with edges for cutting cookie dough into particular shapes<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now, before I share a recipe with you for Christmas sugar cookies, let me give you little bit of the cultural history around sugar cookies. The Christmas sugar cookies of today were not always like they are now.\u00a0 In fact, German gingerbread cookies are considered the first cookie traditionally associated with Christmas.\u00a0 In the 1600’s Dutch and German settlers introduced cookie cutters, decorative molds, and festive holiday decorations to America.\u00a0 Sugar cookies, which are not spicy like German gingerbread cookies, descended from English tradition.\u00a0 English sugar cookies were not cut out and molded like German Christmas cookies though.\u00a0 In America the English and German cookie making traditions were combined to get what we now see as a traditional American Christmas sugar cookie; a vanilla cookie cut into festive shapes.\u00a0 Making and decorating Christmas cookies is now a tradition in many American families.\u00a0 Christmas sugar cookies come in many elaborate holiday shapes like bells, Christmas trees, camels, Santa Clauses, candy canes, and so on. Here is a recipe to get you started if you want to try and make these traditional Christmas sugar cookies for yourself.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sugar Cookies<\/strong> Directions<\/em> What would a holiday be without food?\u00a0 In the United States, it wouldn’t be much of a holiday at all, that is for sure.\u00a0 One thing you hear a lot of people talking about during the winter holiday season is all the food they are going to eat.\u00a0 The eating starts off with Thanksgiving and…<\/p>\n
\nIngredients<\/em>
\n1 1\/2 cups butter, softened
\n2 cups white sugar
\n4 eggs
\n1 teaspoon vanilla extract
\n5 cups all-purpose flour
\n2 teaspoons baking powder
\n1 teaspoon salt<\/p>\n
\n1. In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
\n2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1\/4 to 1\/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
\n3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely before decorating with frosting and sprinkles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2011\/12\/ChristmasCookiePlate-350x238.jpg\")