Santacookies Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, nutmeg and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. Santa-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets., Bake 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Beat in milk, vanilla and salt. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Pipe onto cookies and decorate as desired.

Steps:

• For the cookie dough: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
• Add the butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed, scraping down the bowl at least once, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and 1 egg and beat to combine. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and continue to beat for 30 seconds.
• Remove 1/3 cup of the dough to a small bowl. Add about 1/4 teaspoon black food coloring and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
• Add about 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring to the dough remaining in the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down the bowl at least once. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
• Place the red dough on a lightly floured clean work surface and roll it into a 7-inch log with a 2-inch diameter. Wrap with plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Place the black dough on a lightly floured clean work surface and roll or flatten it into a 7-by-2-inch rectangle, 1/4-inch thick. Wrap with plastic wrap and place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Whisk together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl for the egg wash.
• Remove both doughs from the refrigerator. Slice the red log in half lengthwise. Lightly brush the flat end of one half with egg wash. Place the black dough onto it to adhere. Lightly brush the flat end of the other red half with egg wash and place it on top of the black dough. (If the dough softens and becomes difficult to work with, simply place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.) Wrap the log with plastic wrap and lightly roll it back and forth to round out the sides. Refrigerate the log for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Trim about 1/4 inch from each end of the log to reveal an even and flat Santa. Cut the log into 24 equal slices that are about 1/4-inch thick. Make sure to clean the knife after each slice for a clean cut so the colors won't bleed on each other. (If the log softens and becomes difficult to work with, simply place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.)
• Arrange 12 cookies evenly on each prepared baking sheet. Bake until the edges are lightly golden, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.
• For the royal icing: Add the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 1 tablespoon water to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on high for 1 minute, scraping down the sides as needed. If the icing is too thick, add 1 more teaspoon of water and beat until combined. Transfer to a small pastry bag fitted with a small round tip (size 4).
• Pipe a white collar on the top half of the cookie. Sprinkle it with white sprinkles. Pipe buttons on the red coat and the black belt. Pipe a square buckle in the middle of the black belt.

Steps:

• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and almond extracts; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until well blended. Divide dough into 3 portions; wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled and firm enough to handle.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray baking sheets and 5-inch Santa face cookie cutter with cooking spray; set aside. Roll out 1 portion of dough to 1/4-inch thickness on floured surface with floured rolling pin. Cut out cookies with prepared cutter. Transfer with metal spatula to baking sheet, placing 1 inch apart. Repeat with remaining dough portions, spraying cutter with additional cooking spray as needed.
• Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are browned lightly. Cool on baking sheet 1 minute before removing cookies and placing on wire racks to cool completely.
• Use red icing to fill in the hat, leaving the tip of the hat blank. Use white icing to fill in the tip of the hat, the brim of the hat, the beard and to make 2 dots in the center of the face for the eyes. Place a red candy centered between the eyes at the top of the beard for the nose and a mini morsel on each white dot to make eyes. Top beard with Reddi-wip® just before serving.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, use a whisk to combine the flour, salt and baking powder. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until completely combined.
• Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture slowly, about 1/2 cup at a time until finished, mixing until just combined. Form the dough into 2 disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until slightly firm, about 1 hour, or up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or spray with cooking spray.
• Roll the dough out onto a floured work surface and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes, then transfer to the prepared baking sheets, leaving about a 2-inch space between each cookie.
• Chill the cut-out cookies on the baking sheets for about 15 minutes before baking for a more precise shape. Bake until just starting to become crisp and golden around the edges, about 15 minutes. Remove the cookies to a rack and let cool completely.
• Use food coloring to tint Royal Icing into different colors. To decorate, cover the cookies with the Royal Icing, then sprinkle on decorations while the icing is still wet. Let the icing set completely.
• Add the meringue powder to 1/2 cup water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip for about 30 seconds. Slowly add the confectioner's sugar, and continue to beat until medium peaks form. If the icing is too stiff, add water a tablespoon at a time. Keep covered until ready to use. Transfer to a squeeze bottle for easier decorating.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Beat butter, granulated sugar and lemon peel in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in egg and milk. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 3 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Press bottom of drinking glass on each until about 1/4 inch and 3 inches in diameter. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Spread frosting on cookie (frost and decorate each cookie before starting another). Sprinkle red sugar over top third of cookie for hat. Press on miniature marshmallow for tassel. Press 2 currants for eyes and 1 cinnamon candy for nose into center third of cookie. Sprinkle coconut over bottom third for beard.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat sugar and butter with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in vanilla and egg. On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda and salt.
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls. For each cookie, flatten ball into about 1 1/2-inch round with fingers; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Lightly press 2 chocolate chips into upper third of each dough round for eyes.
• Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Immediately press 1 cinnamon candy onto each cookie for nose. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool 15 minutes.
• Place frosting in small resealable food-storage plastic bag. Seal bag; cut off small corner of bag. Squeeze bag to pipe frosting along bottom edge of cookie and above cinnamon candy for beard. Lightly sprinkle coconut over frosting; gently press into frosting.
• Cut fruit snack into 2-inch-long pieces. Cut each piece diagonally in half to make 2 triangles. With small amount of frosting, attach fruit snack triangle on each cookie for hat. Fold top corner of each triangle over; pipe frosting "tassle" on pointed end of each "hat."

Steps:

• Mix butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in 2 eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed. Gradually mix in flour, baking powder, and salt. Divide dough in half; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out rounds with a 3 1/2-inch cutter; transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets. Freeze 15 minutes.
• Brush egg white over cookies; top with nonpareils. Bake until edges turn golden, 16 to 18 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt white chocolate, stirring occasionally.
• Dip one end of each cookie into melted chocolate.
• Place on wire racks.
• For santa's hat, sprinkle red sugar on top part of chocolate.
• Press one vanilla chip off-center on hat for pom-pom, let stand until set. Note: you can also use a mini marshmallow cut in half for the pom-pom.
• Dip other end of each cookie into melted chocolate for beard, leaving center of cookie uncovered.
• Place on wire racks.
• With a dab of melted chocolate, attach semisweet chips for the eyes and a red-hot for the nose.
• Place on waxed paper until chocolate sets.