Description
These Slice and Bake Christmas Cookies feature a soft buttery dough with colorful, festive shapes embedded inside. Perfect for holiday celebrations, this method allows for preparing cookies ahead of time by freezing logs of dough and slicing them just before baking. The combination of vanilla-flavored dough and vibrant gel food coloring creates visually appealing treats that are crisp on the edges and tender inside.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Dough Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (90 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) white sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups (480 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Additional
- Gel food coloring (various colors as desired, e.g., green, brown, blue)
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined. Set this mixture aside for later use.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a separate large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the softened unsalted butter, confectioners’ sugar, and white sugar together until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
- Add Vanilla and Eggs: Pour in the vanilla extract and eggs, then continue beating the mixture until it is smooth and fully combined.
- Combine Wet and Dry: Gradually add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients, beating until a soft dough forms. The dough should not be sticky to touch.
- Prepare Dough Portions: Wrap and refrigerate two-thirds of the plain dough for later use. Divide the remaining one-third of the dough into portions equal to the number of colors you want to create (e.g., green, brown, blue).
- Add Color to Dough: Incorporate gel food coloring into each divided dough portion. Mix thoroughly either with a hand mixer or by kneading with hands wearing gloves. Wrap each colored dough portion tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Shape Colored Dough: Remove the colored dough from the fridge and roll each color out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Use mini cookie cutters to cut small shapes. Stack identical cut shapes into tall, firm piles. Repeat for each color. Freeze these stacks for at least 4 hours to harden them.
- Soften Plain Dough: After about 3 hours of freezing the shaped stacks, take out the plain dough from refrigeration and leave it at room temperature for about 1 hour to soften.
- Form Cookie Logs: Take the frozen stack of shapes and press the softened plain dough around it to form a log shape, ensuring the stack is centered inside. For shapes with intricate corners or crevices (like snowflakes), press small bits of plain dough into those areas before fully wrapping.
- Smooth and Freeze Logs: Roll the logs gently between your hands until they are smooth, round, and even. Wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Slice and Bake Cookies: Remove the frozen logs from the freezer and allow them to sit for about 20 minutes so they soften slightly for easier slicing. Using a sharp knife, slice the logs into 1/4-inch thick cookies. Place the slices on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them slightly apart. Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, or until they are set and lightly golden at the edges.
Notes
- Make sure the dough is not sticky before wrapping; if it feels sticky, add a little more flour to achieve the correct texture.
- Wearing gloves when kneading colored dough helps prevent staining your hands.
- Freezing the dough stacks and logs thoroughly is essential to retain the shape and ensure clean slices.
- Thin slices of 1/4 inch help the cookies bake evenly and hold their shape without spreading too much.
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week or freeze for longer storage.
