Cheery Christmas Cookies

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It’s Christmas, time to celebrate the season of giving. And what better way to be magnanimous than to share homemade Christmas cookies?

This year, even though I don’t usually do a lot of baking, I decided to make Christmas cookies myself. After all, they’re in my DNA. And store-bought just won’t do. My earliest seasonal memories have always been closely linked with these tasty treats. And I couldn’t eat just one. Both my mother and my grandmother, who lived three miles away, had a large amount of Christmas cookies that were available for treats. It seems like no matter where you went back then, every household had a big batch of Christmas cookies set out for friends, family, and anyone who stopped by. It was almost an expected offering around that community.

At home, there were trays filled with dozens of cookies: round, crumbly walnut-filled morsels rolled in powdered sugar; thumb-print cookies filled with jam; and butter-spritz cookies sprinkled with sugar or topped with cinnamon red-hot candies. There were others, but my favorite were simple cookie-cutter butter cookies, baked and then covered with buttercream frosting (usually colored red or green) and dusted with colored granulated sugar or candied sprinkles.

This year, my taste buds prompted me to spend a day making a big batch of these favorites (pictured above). I used a simple butter shortbread recipe, but it needed a little tweaking by first softening the butter and adding an egg. After mixing and rolling out the dough, this adjustment was perfect. That meant digging out the Christmas cookie cutters, but it was all worth the effort, especially when I made a buttercream icing to lather on once the cookies were cooled. Sprinkled with colored sugar and topped with a cinnamon red-hot, they combine tradition with taste sensation.

I did give a few to friends and family, packaged in wax paper in a small holiday cookie box, but I must admit to hoarding most of the three-dozen cookies produced. I will just have to make another batch. I wish you the best of holiday celebrations and a joyous New Year, as I will be taking a break and will skip my next scheduled blog on Christmas Eve.

Farmboy’s Christmas Cookies Recipe

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