Christmas Cookies

Sarah and I have been making Sugar Cookies since she was a baby. That first Christmas when she was 3 1/2 months old, I put her in her baby carrier and placed her on the kitchen table as I mixed dough. I would hold dough up to her nose so she could sniff and I would talk to her as she stared at me wide-eyed and interested and smiling. Sarah was a cheerful, wakeful baby who hardly ever napped and very seldom cried. She took exactly two half-hour naps each day ... one at mid-morning and one at mid-afternoon. But I didn't care ... I was happy to see her chubby-cheeked smiles ... after all, the household chores got done ... the laundry got washed, the house was swept and dusted. the kitchen mopped, dinners were cooked on time and treats were baked, and Sarah was always clean and sweet smelling. I learned very early to engage Sarah in all my activities ... as I did chores I would place her in each room where she could see what I was doing and I talked to her as I worked and she never ever fussed.

As soon as she was old enough to hold a cookie cutter, she was helping me cut cookies and this is when she discovered that raw cookie dough was very yummy. I hope she has as many memories as I have of a happy child, covered in flour with cookie dough smeared around her mouth. And I hope that she will create the same happy memories for her children as I have for her and my mother did for me.

I learned the art of cookie making in my mother's kitchen. My sisters and I will carry the smells and tastes of that time with us.

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1. Cream butter, powdered sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extract together until light and creamy.

2. Combine flour, baking powder and cream of tartar in a medium bowl, and add to creamed mixture.

3. Divide dough into two balls, flatten into discs and wrap each in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill for 2 - 3 hours.

4. Working with one disc at a time (leave the other in the fridge), roll out on a well floured board or marble board and cut into different shapes with cookie cutters. Place an inch apart on lightly greased cookie sheets.

5. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 7 - 8 minutes until barely golden. If using a 350 degree oven, bake for 10 - 12 minutes.

6. Let stand on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

7. Decorate, allow icing to cool dry completely (for several hours) before storing in an air tight container.

I don't really have a recipe for the icing that I use. I use about two cups of powdered sugar, a couple of teaspoons of cold water (always add one teaspoon) at a time until the glaze is soft enough to pipe but not runny. Spoon glaze into separate small bowls, depending on how many colors is used and remember to leave one portion uncolored. After coloring, I spoon the glaze into separate sandwich bags, snip a very tiny corner off each bag and use those as my piping bags. There is no need to buy fancy piping bags and all that.

The tradition is that Sarah cuts the first sugar cookie!