3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Tinted frostings, colored sugars, edible glitter and nonpareils
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Chill until firm, 1 hour.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out with Christmas cookie cutters of your choice. Using a floured spatula, transfer cookies to greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° until lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.
3. Decorate cookies with frosting and colored sugars.
Rich, buttery sugar cookie cutouts like these never last long at a party. They're one of my favorite homemade Christmas cookies. I use seasonal cutters to celebrate the holidays tastefully.
TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling
YIELD: 6 dozen (2-1/2-inch cookies).
Nutrition Facts
1 each: 47 calories, 2g fat (1g saturated fat), 11mg cholesterol, 43mg sodium, 6g carbohydrate (3g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g protein.