Monday, November 30, 2009

Sugar cookie fun

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend! (This is Ritz today taking Jules' spot and making up my Friday post, by the way.) We were at my sister-in-law's house for the weekend and got to help them pull out all their decorations. This weekend definitely gets me excited to get everything ready for Christmas. So fun.

Before we left I made some sugar cookies for my VT's and brought the rest with me. It's always a fun activity, especially around Chrstimas. Then when I showed up, my sister-in-law had The Great American Cookie Cookbook propped open to the page below, and I thought it would be such a fun activity and also great for decorating.

Figured I'd share with you so you could all give it a shot. If you make it, let me know how it turns out!

Star Cookie Christmas Tree
  • COOKIE DOUGH
  • 2-3/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® Ground Ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon Spice Islands® Ground Saigon Cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup Karo® Light Corn Syrup
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
  • One 10-inch wooden dowel or chopstick (about 1/4-inch diameter)
  • One 3 or 4-inch styrofoam ball for base

  • ICING
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
  • 3 tablespoons Karo® Light Corn Syrup
  • 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® Pure Vanilla Extract
  • Green food color
  • 1 container (3 1/4 ounces) green crystal sugar
  • Yellow crystal sugar
  • Miniature colored candies or red cinnamon candies

1* FOR COOKIE DOUGH: In large bowl stir flour, ginger, cinnamon and salt. In 1-quart saucepan combine corn syrup, brown sugar and 6 tablespoons butter; stir over medium heat until butter melts. Stir into flour mixture until well blended. On waxed paper

2*Preheat oven to 350°F. On foil-lined baking sheets roll each dough half scant 1/4-inch thick.

3*With a set of graduated star-shaped or round cookie cutters (or with a knife), cut dough into 10 graduated stars. Using the smallest cutter, cut 9 more cookies to use as spacers. Remove dough trimmings and reroll. Arrange stars on ungreased cookie sheet.

4*Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. While cookies are warm, use dowel to make a center hole in each cookie. Cool completely on wire racks.

5*FOR ICING: In small bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat butter, corn syrup, confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Tint with green food color.

6*FOR BASE: Cut 1-inch-thick center slice from syrofoam ball. Insert wooden dowel upright in center of slice.

7* TO ASSEMBLE TREE: Starting with largest cookie, spread stars with frosting and sprinkle with green sugar. Slide star down dowel; top with one unfrosted spacer cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies stacking on dowel in descending size.

8*Sandwich two small stars together; spread with reserved white icing and sprinkle with yellow sugar. Place on edge to form top star. Decorate as desired with candies.

Makes one centerpiece
Prep Time: 2.5 hours

Bake Time: 10 minutes, plus cooling


Another fun cookie recipe for Christmas:




2 comments:

  1. When we lived in VA, a family would pass these out as neighborhood gifts. I thought the idea was so cute. I haven't seen those star cookie cutters in different sizes much though. I saw them once but didn't buy them - darn

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  2. Yeah, I was thinking if I made this that I would just print diff sizes of stars off the computer and then cut around them with a knife like it mentions. Who has cutters that big anyway?

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