Keep Calm and Eat Your Christmas Cookies: A Post by Stephanie Kay

[BIG thank you to Steph for this adorable calorie-free post!]--Penny Sr.

✷ COOKIES! ✷

A post by Stephanie Kay

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The holidays are here and it’s time to eat as many Christmas cookies as you can without getting a stomach ache!

I am a firm believer that Christmas calories don’t count…

which is why I avoid my scale until around February.

I make a lot of cookies each year.  And I always bake while wearing my favorite apron.

My sister used to work for a gift company and designed this with me in mind.  
She called me her tic-tac factor because I love all things tacky and Christmassy!  

She gave me the sample apron…love it. 

I make so many cookies that I end up with carpal tunnel by mid-December.  

My family likes to call it Christmas Tunnel. 

Luckily I have a Kindle now, so when my hands are all cramped in January, I can still read!
Holding a book when your hands look like a claw can be painful.

I’ve toned it down over the last few years. 

This year I’m only making 25 batches…I said batches, not dozen. 

There are spreadsheets involved…I might get a little crazy!

One of my favorite recipes--most likely due to the fact that the frosting is as thick as the cookie--is frosted sugar cookies.

Frosted Sugar Cookie Recipe

Cookie ingredients:

3/4 cup of sugar

2/3 cup of unsalted butter, softened

1 tbs of milk

1 tsp of vanilla

1 egg

1 1/2 cup of flour

1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a 15x10 jelly roll pan with parchment paper (for easy clean up).

Combine sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, and egg.  Beat at medium speed until combined.  Add in flour and baking powder.  Combine until well mixed.

Spread into jelly roll pan and bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. 

Frosting – you can use canned frosting, but I make my own and it’s super easy.

4 cups of powdered sugar

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter

1 tsp of vanilla

3 tbs of milk (may need a little more to get the right consistency, frosting should be easily spreadable)

Food coloring (I use gel food coloring.  A little goes a long way)

Mmm, frosting…don’t forget to lick the beaters clean!

Combine all ingredients and spread over the cooled cookies. Sprinkle red and green sugar on top to look festive!

You can cut them in whatever way you want.  Sometimes I even use a cookie cutter.  Then you can eat all the leftover pieces.

I usually cut into 24 squares and then cut each square diagonally so I end up with 48 triangles.

Store them in the fridge and enjoy your sugar coma!

Looks yummy, right?

And if you have kids in the house, let them help.  I started baking with my mom when I was a little kid and I loved it.  Make it a Christmas tradition.  They will love you for it later.  Maybe their waistlines won’t love it…but you get the idea!

Clearly I loved cookies from early on!

Happy holidays and happy baking! 

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Huge thanks to Steph for the sugar coma! 
I'm sure everyone has a spreadsheet to organize their holiday baking.

Happy Holidays from Penny Sr, Penny Jr, Steph and Nico!

Don't forget to enter the give-away. Today is the last day!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!