My grandma (I think a little reluctantly) agreed to let me share our family’s Christmas cookie recipe with you! This recipe goes back to my great great grandparents. So please, treat it with respect. There will be two recipes below. One for the actual cookies and one for the icing. Please let me know if you make these and how you like them!!
First, I’ll share the basic recipe and directions, and then I’ll go into some extra detail about it because it’s a tad complicated and you have to kind of add ingredients in a particular way so that everything mixes properly. Important: These are tripled versions of these recipes. So depending on the size of cookies you cut out, it can make 8 dozen or more cookies. Also, the dough gets very thick so you must have a stand mixer, a hand mixer will be very difficult to use. We make such a huge batch because we give a lot out and then we store extra cookies in Ziploc bags in the freezer. They taste great right out of the freezer! (Weird, I know!)
Christmas Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup shortening
- 3 cups white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 3 tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp nutmeg
- 7-8 cups of flour
- 3 tsp vanilla
Directions:
- Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Add shortening and white sugar to mixer and cream (mix) together.
- Add eggs and mix.
- Add a little bit of buttermilk at a time, adding it alternately with the baking soda, nutmeg, and flour. Add flour until dough is thick, but not too stiff. You will use a lot of flower. Once you use up all the buttermilk, keep adding flour a little at a time until dough seems thick enough. Use your best judgement.
- Add vanilla and mix.
- Again, this recipe is tripled, so pull a handful of dough out at a time to roll out. Cover area (probably your countertop) with flour, and continue to add flour kneading the dough until it isn’t sticking to your hands and you can roll it out.
- Roll dough out to about 1/4 inch thick and use any cookie cutter you want. Use parchment paper or grease cookie sheet. (I think parchment paper is easier to use.)
- Bake 6-8 minutes (depending on if your oven runs hot) until very light brown.
- Remove from cookie sheet and let cool. Once they are cool, icing (recipe below) and decorate them with sprinkles!
Christmas Cookie Icing Recipe
Ingredients:
- 6 tbsp soft butter
- 3 tsp milk
- 3 tsp vanilla
- powdered sugar – add to desired consistency
Directions:
- Add butter, milk, and vanilla to mixer
- Start adding powdered sugar and mix
- Continue adding powdered sugar until you get to your desired consistency. Should be thick enough that it doesn’t just slide right off the beater.
- You may need to mix another batch of icing depending on how many cookies you make.
- Put icing in fridge until ready to use.
- Once cookies have cooled, use a table knife (or similar utensil) to apply icing and add any kind of sprinkle you like!
- Let icing kind of harden before storing cookies.
Please let me know if you have any questions before, during, or after making your cookies!
The Manoff House 