Frosted sugar cookies

The classic Christmas cookie

By Carrie Floyd

December 19, 2008

I hate sugar cookies — at least, those that taste like nothing, or like nothing but plain sugar and flour. That said, I understand the allure of cutting cookie dough into shapes, spreading the baked ones with icing, then shaking on the sparkles, jimmies, and dragées. It’s a fun thing to do with kids (it’s even fun without kids).

When I found the recipe for Butter Cut-Out Cookies in Nigella Lawson’s How to Be a Domestic Goddess, I stopped grimacing at the annual pressure to make cookie-cutter treats. These cookies are delicious, tasting of butter and vanilla; they’re especially good topped with a lemony icing instead of the usual powdered-sugar-and-water paste (easy to make, but nasty to eat).

Speaking of icing: If you’d like to decorate gingerbread cookies, try this Epicurious recipe. It’s my all-time favorite.

With our Sweet 16 blog, we present a holiday dessert recipe every weekday for the first few weeks of December. Congratulations to Lisa, who was our daily book winner for December 20.* Check out our latest Sweet 16 blog recipe for your last chance to win.

*A daily winner was selected at noon (PST) on Saturday, December 20, 2008, from all valid entrants. All eligible winners must have U.S. mailing addresses. Please note that all standard Culinate contest rules apply to this drawing.