Best Ever Rolled-Out Sugar Cookies!

I think about my mother a lot during the holidays; there’s a lot to remember and a lot to miss. My mother was not only “the queen of good-byes,” she was the “queen of the holidays.”

If you are missing a loved one this holiday season, too, you might be interested in reading an earlier post with twelve tips for getting through the holidays.

As I’ve written about before, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Christmas comes in a close second.

My mother knew how to put on a good Thanksgiving. Her Christmases weren’t too shabby either. To this day, I marvel at how she made it all appear so easy.

One of the first things to mark off her Christmas to-do list was making her famous holiday-shaped, rolled-out sugar cookies. It was a production that took time, skill, patience, know-how, stamina and, of course, a secret family recipe. (Keep reading to grab it.) She insisted upon rolling out her sugar cookie dough as thinly as possible.

“The thinner the better,” she’d always say. “The perfect sugar cookie must be thin, crisp, and a delicate golden brown.”

Some of my friends’ mothers made thick, chewy sugar cookies, but I always knew they were not the “perfect” cookie.

Always, and only for Christmas, my mother made a double batch of her sugar cookies, and the kitchen counters and table would become a sea of fragile, golden cookies waiting for the finishing frosting process to begin.

My three siblings and I always helped with the frosting part. That was a painstakingly slow process that could not be hurried and seemed to take forever. Each cookie was gently and meticulously frosted (using not just one color, but several) with almost surgical skill and care so as not to break it (of course, many were broken, but we got to eat those!) each one ending up being a mini work of art. Well, almost.

Every year, after our assembly-line cookie production was finished, the cookies were stashed away in the basement freezer like hidden treasures. When the time finally arrived for them to be brought out, they would be displayed on crystal trays for all to admire, marvel at and, of course, indulge in. Mother carefully rationed them out to last as long as possible, which usually meant until my older sister’s birthday on January 2^nd.

I’ve continued making my mother’s rolled-out, frosted sugar cookies every single year since I left home. I don’t particularly enjoy making them. Too much work. I don’t even really like eating them all that much. Too sweet and no chocolate. Plus, I got sick on the dough one year after eating too much of it, so that’s likely the main reason they’ve not been my favorite since.

They might not be my favorite holiday cookie, but I make them because doing so is another way to remember my mother and a whole lot more. And my family loves them!

After all, baking holiday cookies isn’t just about the cookies.

Here’s my mother’s (which is really my grandmother’s) secret recipe for the best ever rolled-out sugar cookies. If you make them, your family will love them. Guaranteed!

The Best Ever Rolled-Out Sugar Cookies 

Sift together:  (true confessions – I don’t actually own a sifter, so I don’t sift…I just throw dry ingredients together in large bowl)

  3 cups flour  

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

Cut in 1 cup soft (not melted) butter until particles are fine

Add 1 slightly beaten egg

Add 3 tbsp cream (sometimes I add a tad more, but just a tad)

1 tsp vanilla

Blend thoroughly (I use my hands. Kids love this part!)

Divide and form into three balls and flatten them a little for easier rolling out later

Refrigerate dough for a while

Roll out as thinly as you wish on floured board

Cut into desired shapes

Bake at 400 degrees for 4 min. & then start checking often. They brown quickly after 4 minutes!

Cool completely

Frost as desired (I mix together powdered sugar/cream/vanilla/food coloring to desired consistency)

Enjoy!

Happy baking!

What’s something you do during the holidays to carry on a tradition or memory of a loved one?

What’s your favorite holiday cookie to make or eat?

Just for fun, do you prefer thin and crispy sugar cookies or thick and chewy?

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