Not Your Grandmother’s Christmas Cookies

Decorating Christmas cookies is always fun, but how many snowmen and Santa shaped cookies can you decorate before you run out of ideas? Mix things up and get creative this year with farm animal cookies! Use these printable cutouts to make your own adorable, edible Christmas cookie farm scene.

BUT FIRST, COOKIES.

If you have a tried and true sugar cookie recipe, by all means, get to baking! For those of you who need a little more guidance in the kitchen, use these simple recipes below to get started.

Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder and gradually add the dry ingredients to your large bowl.
3. Cover your countertop and rolling pin in flour and roll out the cookie dough. Use the printable cutouts and trace with a butter knife to shape your cookies!
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Frosting

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup butter (softened)
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk SAVE $

Mix powdered sugar and butter with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk. Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar.

Once the cookies have cooled, get creative and start decorating!