Description
Celebrate the holidays with classic Holly and Berry Sugar Cookies, featuring soft, buttery sugar cookie dough tinted festively with green and red gel food coloring. These charming cookies are perfectly decorated with smooth homemade icing, bringing festive colors and flavors to your holiday table. Easy to bake and delightfully delicious, they make an excellent treat for Christmas and winter celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Food Coloring
- Green gel food coloring
- Red gel food coloring
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking and ensure easy cleanup.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set this mixture aside for later.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, beat softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. This step incorporates air for tender cookies.
- Add Egg and Extracts: Beat in the large egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract until the dough is smooth and well combined.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix only until just combined to avoid overworking the dough, keeping the cookies tender.
- Color the Dough: Divide the dough into two portions. Tint one portion green using gel food coloring for the holly leaves. Leave the other portion plain or tint it red for the holly berries.
- Roll and Cut Dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough portion out to about ¼-inch thickness. Use holly leaf cookie cutters for the green dough and small round cutters for the berries. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden. This ensures a perfect balance of softness and structure.
- Cool Completely: Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them to wire racks. Allow them to cool completely before decorating to ensure icing adherence.
- Prepare the Icing: Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, light corn syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth. Divide this icing and tint portions green and red with gel food coloring as desired for decorating.
- Decorate Cookies: Using the colored icings, decorate the cooled cookies with green for holly leaves and red for berries. Allow the icing to set completely before storing or serving.
Notes
- If the dough feels too soft to roll, chill it for 30 minutes before rolling out to make it easier to handle.
- For a glossy finish on your cookies, allow the first layer of icing to dry completely before adding any detailed decorations on top.
- Store decorated cookies in an airtight container to keep them fresh for up to 5 days.
- Cookies can be frozen, either decorated or undecorated, for up to 2 months; thaw completely before serving.
