Sugar Cookies & Kitchen Essentials

How do you refresh your home after the holidays?  Do you miss your Christmas tree and holiday decorations up, or do you get them down and feel nice and refreshed?  A white kitchen refresh is always our go to when swapping out of the busy Christmas season into the new year.

Maybe it’s adding the perfect new accessory to your kitchen or rearranging your kitchen essentials in your home?  Check our links below for our favorite January kitchen refresh items…but on a side note, have you noticed any specific food items that have become a part of your holiday traditions? Sugar cookies have seemed to creep into almost all our holiday traditions and we are not mad about it!  These cookies are always a hit and usually a great party essential because you can change the color and shape or flavor to match any event or gathering you are hosting or attending. Have you ever met anyone who did not like sugar cookies?

We have tried many recipes over the years and this one is our favorite.  My mom is one of the most creative people I know and her baking skills are top notch. I’m so glad she taught me how to make these cookies! A good tried and true that is sure to always impress your guests and taste buds.  The secret ingredient?......Orange peel zest!  It adds the perfect flavor and will forever be our favorite recipe.

Below is the recipe for the sugar cookies as well as two favorite frosting recipes that’ll work for any occasion, royal Frosting and Buttercream. Give it a try and let us know what you think?!

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

1 C Butter

2 C Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1 8oz. Package of Cream Cheese

1 Egg

1 tsp. Orange Rind/Zest

3.5 C Flour

Cream the fat and sugar together.  Beat in the cream cheese and egg.  Add remaining ingredients and chill overnight (or at least an hour) before rolling out the dough.  The dough can be frozen and sliced off into cookies for up to 3 months stored correctly.  Roll and cut into shapes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

If you want a yummy icing on top of the cookie you cannot go wrong with a simple butter cream frosting recipe. However, if decorating the perfect cookie is more of your thing, a royal icing recipe is perfect for you. Here are both recipes:

Butter Cream Frosting

1/2 C Shortening

1/2 C Softened Butter (Salted is best)

3 T Milk

1 t Vanilla (or mint)

1 T Corn Syrup

1/4 t Salt

4 C Powder Sugar

1/4 C Meringue Powder (optional but it just makes the frosting stiffer and will hold a shape better for decorating)

Cream shortening and butter. Add wet ingredients. Add powder sugar. Frost and enjoy!

Royal Icing

2 lbs. Powder Sugar

1/3 C Meringue Powder

3/4 C Warm Water

1 T Corn Syrup

2-4 T Oil-free Extract or Flavoring

With paddle attachment mix warm water and meringue powder on low speed until mostly dissolved. Add the flavorings and mix. Add the sugar and start the mixer on the lowest speed. As the dry and liquid ingredients are coming together, add in the corn syrup. Once everything has been combined stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat for approximately 5-6 minutes. The frosting is ready when it forms stiff peaks. Do not over mix. This will be more of the piping consistency so it will need to be thinned down a TINY bit for the main frosting (flooding or body of the cookie). Have so much fun with this! The kids really love to grab tooth picks and make designs as you flood the cookies and they are setting up.

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