sharing gifts at christmastime- a guest post & cookies

There is no sweeter gift during the holidays then being with family and friends; so when my blog friend Melissa asked me to do a guest post over at blog her blog MaMe Musings I jumped at the chance. She is a great person, a wife and mother of twins Drew and Emily and I know if you visit you'll just love her, her blog and her wonderful sense of humor. 


Writing this post for her and getting a chance to meet new people is such a big treat for me.Today I get to share some what goes on at Christmastime with my family and friends. So please pop over and say hi and show Melissa and I some love.

And speaking of sweeter....the recipe I'm sharing with you today is one of my favorite holiday treats. Not only are they fun to make but they are yummy to eat. A big plus is they keep for as long as a week so those of you who'd like to be baking and are short of time and crazy busy ( sound familiar ) then you might want to try these out. I promise you'll love them!

Christmas Sugar Cookies   

Ingredients

·         3 c. all-purpose flour

·         3/4 tsp. baking powder

·         1/4 tsp salt

·         1 c. unsalted butter, softened

·         1 c.sugar

·         1 egg, beaten

·         1 tbsp. milk

·         Powdered sugar, for rolling 

Directions

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If the dough has warmed during rolling you can place it back in the fridge for 10 minutes to chill.

 Cut into desired shape,( I usually do rounds) place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. (I even stack two with a little cut out filled with jam and nuts for a little extra something something during the holidays.)

 Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or ice as desired. These cookies will store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

 Did you come visit me and read my guest post? Don't forget!


 And enjoy the cookies, they're the best.