Pretty, yes, but is it food?
I admit it, traditional frosted sugar cookies leave me cold. They taste like cardboard, and the silver balls and glitter on top just don’t taste like food (and the FDA has yet to test whether they’re safe for your kids to eat.) Still, I find myself drawn to the ritual of rolling out dough, cutting Christmas shapes, and decorating them. This is a holiday tradition crying out for a makeover.
This year, I’m determined to make Christmas cookies that look good and taste good too. Cookie cutters are a lost art in these days of drop cookies, but they’re the most fun kind of cookie to make with little ones. So I’ve decided to adapt a Martha Stewart lemon drop cookie recipe into frosted Christmas cookies that actually taste like something. And what could be a better something than lemon?
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
zest from 1-2 lemons
3+ tbsp lemon juice
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
more lemon zest
fun cookie cutters (you can often find these at thrift stores or ask your grandma if she has extras)
Roll into two balls, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for an hour. Stick the dough between two lightly-floured sheets of wax paper, roll it out slowly with a rolling pin until it’s 1/4 in thick. Peel back one of the sheets of wax paper and press each cookie cutter firmly into the dough. Take the other ball of dough out of the fridge when you’re ready, and do the same to it.
