Description
These Christmas Sugar Cookie Ornaments are delightful festive treats perfect for holiday celebrations. Soft, buttery sugar cookies shaped into charming ornament designs, baked to perfection and decorated with royal icing for a joyful and creative baking experience.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
For Decoration
- Royal icing
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) to prepare for baking the cookies.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and baking powder to ensure even distribution of leavening agents.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a separate large bowl, beat the softened unsalted butter and white sugar together until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy, which will give the cookies a light texture.
- Add Egg and Extracts: Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract into the creamed butter and sugar until fully incorporated, adding flavor and moisture to the dough.
- Combine Flour Mixture: Gradually add the dry flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing thoroughly to form the cookie dough but avoiding overmixing to keep the cookies tender.
- Adjust Dough Consistency: Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of milk as needed, a little at a time, to achieve the perfect dough consistency that’s pliable and easy to roll out.
- Roll and Cut Shapes: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to your preferred thickness and use ornament-shaped cookie cutters to cut out festive shapes.
- Prepare Baking Sheet: Arrange the cut-out cookies on ungreased cookie sheets, giving enough space between each to allow for slight spreading during baking.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden, indicating they are perfectly baked.
- Cool Cookies: Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely on wire racks to set their shape and texture before decorating.
- Decorate: Once fully cooled, decorate the cookies with royal icing in your desired patterns to create beautiful and festive ornament designs.
Notes
- Use room temperature butter for easier creaming with sugar.
- For accurate dough consistency, add milk gradually to avoid making the dough too sticky.
- If you don’t have ornament-shaped cutters, use any festive shapes or a knife to cut freeform shapes.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating to prevent icing from melting.
- Store decorated cookies in an airtight container to keep them fresh for up to one week.
