Christmas Sugar Cookies

Making sugar cookies is a Christmas tradition for many families. Decorated holiday cookies are a festive gift and fun to make. Icing and decorating cookies is a great family activity.

CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES

½ c. unsalted butter
1 egg
1 c. granulated sugar
2 c. flour
¼ tsp. vanilla
¼ c. milk
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt

Cream together butter and sugar. In a separate bowl beat egg and milk together. Add beaten egg and milk to butter-sugar mixture. Sift flour and baking powder together, adding half of it at a time to the above mixture. Add vanilla. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and roll to ¼ inch thick. Cut into Christmas (or holiday) shapes and sprinkle with sugar. Colored sugar or decorative candies can also be placed on the cookies if you don't want to ice them. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

Cool cookies on a rack. An easy way to ice the cookies is to microwave store-bought white frosting until it's thinned, separating it into smaller cups and adding food coloring to get desired colors. Spread on the cookies and decorate with sprinkles. Kids love to ice and decorate Christmas cookies and it can be a great holiday tradition. These are fun to give as gifts displayed on a fancy charger plate.