Christmas Cookies with your local Realtor®

One of my favorite traditions is baking Christmas cookies and making sweet treats as a family. Growing up, my entire family would meet at my grandmas and we would spend the day baking while dressing up in Christmas hats or funny Christmas themed clothing. We are all grown now, but I enjoy looking back at pictures of those days and it always brings back such wholesome memories. Now that I have children I like to have a special day where we bake sugar cookies and decorate them with red and green icing. My kids are heavy handed with the sprinkles, it's a mess but I love it.

My go-to sugar cookie recipe is from, Easy Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe (No Chilling The Dough!) - Mirlandra's Kitchen (mirlandraskitchen.com). They do not require chilling which is helpful with younger (and impatient) bakers. I have used this recipe many times and they always turn out. These cookies are easy to make and super soft.

Sugar Cookie Recipe

• 1 cup salted butter, softened

• 1 cup granulated white sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

Let's Get This Cookie Party Started!

• Preheat the oven to 350 F.

• In the bowl of a stand mixer use the paddle attachment to beat the butter and sugar together at medium-high speed for 1 minute.

• On medium speed, beat in the egg, vanilla, almond extract, baking powder and salt.

• Measure the flour correctly and add to the mixer 1 cup at a time, beating until combined after each addition.

• Don't chill the dough! Divide it into two balls and roll out to exactly 1/4" thick on a clean piece of parchment paper using just enough flour on your rolling pin to prevent sticking. Scraps of dough can be gathered up, kneaded together until they are a uniform ball and then rolled out again. Repeat as needed until used up.

• When removing cut cookie dough from the parchment paper use a thin, flexible metal spatula. Quickly slide the spatula under each cookie and use the spatula to put the cookie on the baking sheet.

• Line cookie sheets with clean parchment paper. Space out cookies on sheets with enough room to rise. Bake at 350F for 7-8 minutes. The cookies will not be brown at all. They will be dead white but look set. (For crisp cookies instead of soft bake an additional 2-3 minutes until edges start to brown.)

• After removing from the oven let the cookies cool on the sheets for several minutes until firm enough to move without breaking. Use a spatula to put the cookies on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

• Decorate with vanilla buttercream and store tightly covered for up to five days.

Do you have a favorite cookie recipe for the Holidays? I would love to hear about it! This weekend is the Buffalo Cookie Crawl. I will be passing out cookies downtown at the Dallas County Jail Hotel.