Christmas Cookie Change-Up

Our guest blogger is LOREN EBERT – wife, mother, and self-proclaimed cookie and cake decorating fanatic!

It’s that time of year when we start planning our holiday baking and Christmas cookies are always at the top of my to-do list!  Whether I’m bringing a hostess gift for an annual Christmas party, a little something for a teacher’s gift or an impressive Cookie Swap offering, hand-decorated cookies always bring the WOWs!  This year I changed things up a bit and decided to make some chocolate chip roll-out cookies instead of standard vanilla sugar cookies.  These are always a hit with the kids too!

 

Big Batch Chocolate Chip Roll-Out Cookie Recipe

2 cups salted butter,  room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 T. Lorann Madagascar Vanilla Extract
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups mini chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars in bowl of large stand mixer.  Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.  Add vanilla.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour and baking powder.  
On low-speed, slowly add flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture, one large spoonful at a time.  Once all the flour mixture is combined, add chips.

Remove dough from bowl and form a ball.  Double wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for several hours.  Roll out your dough on a floured surface*, cut with cookie cutters** and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookie is slightly browned.

*If dough is too cold to roll out easily, let it sit out at room temp until it softens.
** The chocolate chips in this recipe make it more difficult to use intricately detailed cookie cutters.  Simple shapes like circles and squares work best.

Royal Icing 

5 T. Lorann Meringue Powder
¾ cup warm water
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Whisk together meringue powder and water until foamy and no lumps.  Add 5 cups sifted powdered sugar and mix on low until powdered sugar is fully incorporated.  Switch mixer on med-high for 3-5 minutes or until icing thickens.  Color your icing and fill piping bags fitted with decorating tips.  For thin icing add a few drops of water at a time until icing is the consistency of pancake syrup and fill squeeze bottles.

To Decorate Snowman Faces:

  1. Outline the outer edge of the cookie with thick, white royal icing in a piping bag fitted with a #2 round piping tip.  Let it dry for several minutes.
  2. Fill in the inside of your outline with thinned royal icing and spread with offset spatula.  Let it dry and harden for several hours.
  3. Dip black 4mm sugar pearls in some white icing and using tweezers, place on cookie for eyes and mouth.
  4. Pipe an orange “carrot” nose.
  5. On the top portion of the circle, pipe an outline of hat with pink or blue icing. Let dry for several minutes.
  6. Fill in the outline with thinned pink or blue icing and spread with offset spatula.  Let dry for several hours.  Use star tip #14 to pipe fancy shell border on rim of hat.
  7. Use a #101 petal tip to pipe rose.
  8. Use a #352 leaf tip to pipe leaves.For more cookie and cake decorating tutorials, recipes and inspiration, join me on my blog:  www.thebakingsheet.blogspot.com and/or Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Baking-Sheet/

 

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