Slice and Bake Christmas Cookie

 

This Christmas Cookie recipe I originally shared November 12, 2013 has been receiving a lot of interest on Pinterest lately so I thought I would share with all of you

 

 

2 cups flour, plus possibly a few more tbsp (the original recipe called for cake flour, but I just used regular old all-purpose flour since I was all out of a softasilk)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (cut in chunks)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp of food coloring of your choice(and/or 1/2 tsp of any desired extra extracts)
1 1/2 cup holiday sprinkles

1. In a stand mixer, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugars with paddle on medium until well blended.

2. Add butter in, gradually, and continue mixing. Add in vanilla extract. At this point, your dough will form a ball on your paddle.

3. Remove all your dough and divide into two equal parts. Return one portion back in to the mixer and add the food coloring and any extra extracts. I used Wilton gel food coloring in leaf green and vanilla extract for this batch. You could coordinate your colors and flavors, for example green food coloring matched with a mint extract or yellow with a lemon extract, etc. Also, if you are using liquid food coloring, you will need to add a few tbsp of flour to keep the dough from becoming too wet. Mix until the color is spread out evenly.

4. Roll out each portions of your dough, between two sheets a wax paper until is reaches about 11 x 9 inches and is 1/4 inch thick. Slide both unto a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

5. When firm, remove the top sheets of wax paper from both. Brush the uncolored vanilla dough lightly with water using a pastry brush. Then flip the colored dough onto the vanilla uncolored dough so they are stacked atop each other and even. Press the edges lightly with your fingertips to seal them together. Using a small pairing knife, trim the edges of the dough to make straight, even lines.

6. Pour out sprinkles onto a large platter and set aside. Be sure your dough is still cold, but flexible. Once it's ready, begin rolling the long side of dough into a swirl, jelly-roll style. Now, don't get nervous if the outer layer of uncolored dough tears a bit. It's no problem, just pinch and pat those tears and voila, then just keep rolling.

7. Now gently lift your dough log onto the sprinkles and roll away. Cover the log completely with your sprinkles. Wrap the colorfully decorated log in plastic wrap twice. Depending on when you want to bake the cookies, either place the wrapped dough into refrigerator for about 3-4 hours or you can put it the freezer and keep it there for up to 2 months. (If freezing, give yourself time for the dough to defrost in the fridge overnight before cutting.)

8. Slice your dough into 1/4-1/8 inch slices and bake on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes until edges are slightly golden. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then move them to a cookie rack to finish cooling. Enjoy your whimsical Christmas cookies!

shared at one or more of these parties
Anything Goes (3a)- Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo
Best of the Weekend (p.m.)- Cooking With Curls, A Little Claireification, Little Miss Celebration,  The Mandatory Mooch
Craft Frenzy Friday (Th7)- Craft Dictator
Eat. Create. Party! (Th7p)- Endlessly Inspired, I Want Crazy, A Dash of Sanity, Living Better Together
Fabric Frenzy Friday (F)- Fort Worth Fabric Studio
Fabulous Friday- Simple Nature Decor
Feature Friday Link Palooza (Th pm)- Blissful and Domestic
Five Friday Finds- Morsels of Life
Weekend Bites (Th7:30)- Simple Living and Eating and Home Maid Simple
Foodie Friends Friday (Th8)- Foodie Friends Friday, Walking on Sunshine, From Calculus to Cupcakes, Cindy’s Recipes and Writings, Busy Vegetarian Mom, This and That, Winelady Cooks, In the Kitchen with Jenny, The Chef Next Door, Robyn’s View
Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends (TR 7:30)- My Turn for Us, Love Bakes Good Cakes
Friday Favorites (Th7pm)- The Diary of a Real Housewife
*Friday Features (Th7)- Oh My Heartsie Girl
Friday Link Party (Th8)- The Pin Junkie
From the Farm (7aF)- The Homestead Lady,  The Homesteading Hippy, My Healthy Green Family, Spring Mountain Living
Inspiration Spotlight Party (F5a)- Dear Creatives
Inspire Me Please (Th after8)- Love of Family and Home, House of Rose, Liz Marie Blog, Blissfully After
Let's Get Real Friday (Th5p)- Our Little Family Adventure, Juggling Real Food and Real Life, 365 (ish) Days of Pinterest, Calm, Healthy, Sexy, A Dish of Daily Life
Life of the Party (Th7)- The Grant Life
Link Party Palooza (F6p or earlier)- Tater Tots and Jello, Lil Luna, I Heart Nap Time, Somewhat Simple, Today's Creative Blog
Our Favorite Things Pinterest Party (Th)- My Turn for Us, Gina's Crafty Corner, View from the Fridge, Carissa Miss, Gingerly Made, Our Rosey Life, Crafty Allie, Denise Designed, Table for 7, 3 Little Greenwoods
Pin Me (8a)- Diana Rambles
Pinworthy Projects (7a)- Domestic Superhero, Just Us Four, Atkinson Drive
Post Comment Love (1:30a)- Verily, Victoria Vocalises
Pretty Pintastic (2:01 a.m.F)- Coffee With Us 3, Gloriously Made,  An Alli Event, Captain America and His English Rose
Pure Blog Love (Th7p)- PicNic
Say G'Day Saturday (F6)- Natasha in Oz, What's On The List?
That's Fresh Friday(biweekly Thurs7)- Prototype Mama
(*New) The Handmade Hangout (Th5)- Too Much Time, From Gardners 2 Bergers, Christina's Adventures, Redoux Interiors, A Glimpse Inside
Weekend Potluck (F6A)- The Better Baker, The Country Cook, 4 Little Fergusons, Sunflower Supper Club, Frugal Family Favorites
Weekend Recipe Link Up (F afternoon? before 4)- Gator Mommy Reviews
Weekend re-Treat (Th6p)- The Best Blog Recipes
Weekend Social (Th8)- Kitchen Dreaming , The McCallum's Shamrock Patch
Weekend Wind-down (F5p)- This SimpleHome
What To Do Weekends (Th9:00)- Crafts a la Mode