Classic Christmas Sugar Cookie Cutouts
       
      
        Want to know Mrs. Claus favorite cookie to bake for Santa? 
         Check out the recipe below....an old family favorite from Betty Crocker.




1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Granulated sugar or colored sugar

Steps

• 1 Mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, almond extract and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except granulated sugar. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• 2 Heat oven to 375ºF. Lightly grease cookie sheet.
• 3 Divide dough in half. Roll each half 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes with 2- to 2 1/2- mopinch cookie cutters. Sprinkle with granulated sugar (optional, as you might want to create an extra special design with frosting-recipe below). Place on cookie sheet.
  
• 4 Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk or half-and-half

In medium bowl, beat all frosting ingredients until smooth and spreadable. Tint with food color if desired. Frost and decorate cookies as desired with frosting and colored sugars.


Tips and Tricks

• It’s important to keep the dough chilled, so work in batches. Mix the dough just until well blended, then divide it in half. Wrap each half in waxed paper, pressing the dough into a flattened disk. Then place in the refrigerator while you roll the other.
• Use a light hand when re-rolling dough scraps, gently pressing them together and rolling them out quickly. If the dough is overworked your cookies will be tough.
• Be ready for a big baking day by making your dough ahead of time. Do so by mixing up multiple batches of dough and dividing each batch into quarters. Roll out each quarter between sheets of plastic wrap to the thickness you need. Gently fold the wrap around the edges of the rolled dough, sealing it well. Stack the rolled dough (lift each piece with a wide spatula or flat baking sheet) on a baking sheet—store them in the freezer for up to 1 month. You can freeze unbaked or baked cut-outs too—ready and waiting for last minute baking or decorating.
• Flat baking sheets lined with baking parchment are the best choice for making cut-out cookies. The flat sheets allow the air to circulate around the cookies, so they bake evenly and become the right shade of light golden brown.
• For longer storage, consider making a hard-drying royal icing to glaze and decorate cookies you’d like to keep for trimming the tree.

              (https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/classic-christmas-sugar-cookie-cutouts/a1830449-487e-4c7f-882c-48ac06d83a91)

---