The Pioneer Woman Tasty Kitchen
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Favorite Christmas Cookies

5.00 Mitt(s) 3 Rating(s)3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 53 votes, average: 5.00 out of 53 votes, average: 5.00 out of 53 votes, average: 5.00 out of 53 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5

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Level: Easy

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Description

These are my all-time favorite, nostalgic, comfort-food, fun-to-make, low-fuss, low-brow, high-calorie, non-snobby, yummy Christmas cookie of all time. They come from my mom, Gee, who used this simple but flavorful sugar cookie dough to make cookies for any occasion.

Ingredients

  • Cookies:
  • ⅔ cups Shortening
  • ¾ cups Sugar
  • ½ teaspoons Grated Orange Or Lemon Zest
  • ½ teaspoons Vanilla
  • 1 whole Egg
  • 4 teaspoons Milk
  • 2 cups Flour
  • 1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ¼ teaspoons Salt
  • _____
  • EGG YOLK GLAZE:
  • 1 whole Egg Yolk
  • 1 teaspoon Water
  • 2 drops (to 3) Food Coloring
  • _____
  • WHITE DECORATIVE ICING:
  • 1 bag 2 Lb Powdered Sugar
  • ¼ cups Milk
  • 2 Tablespoons Egg White (optional)

Preparation

Cream shortening, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla thoroughly. Add in egg and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the milk and mix.

Sift dry ingredients together, then blend into cream mixture. Divide dough in half (thirds if you double your recipe), slightly flatten between two sheets of waxed paper, then refrigerate for one hour (or freeze for 20 minutes).

While dough is chilling, combine egg yolk, water and food coloring to make the egg yolk glaze.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface and cut into shapes with a cookie cutters. Transfer shapes to lightly greased cookie sheet and paint cookies (with a soft brush) with egg yolk glaze.

After brushing with egg yolk glaze, bake at 375 degrees for approximately 6 minutes. Do not allow the cookies to brown.

While cookies are baking, mix powdered sugar, milk and egg whites (which are optional) to make the decorative icing. Remove cookies from oven to a wire rack to cool. Then, using a pastry bag or Ziploc bag, pipe with white icing to decorate.

Note: when making the white decorative icing, make sure that it is thick and somewhat retains its shape.

6 Comments

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Pretty. Good. Food. on 9.3.2010

mmmm, I love Christmas and I love cookies. It’s only September, is it too early to start baking Christmas cookies?! ;)

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chrishel00 on 3.21.2010

We made these last year and LOVED them. The kids I babysit had a ball painting on the crazy designs and the ones I did myself looked so pretty! And yumm! Used lemon zest, next time hubbie requests I use orange. Good cookies, I’ll be doing these again next year!

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insanesquash on 1.7.2010

The orange zest made these cookies stand out from your standard sugar cookie. And I loved the egg yolk glaze, so much easier than icing!

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karenjersey on 12.18.2009

Made these last year and they were good!!

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mrsq on 11.11.2009

We’ve made this recipe for two holidays now and my kids go NUTS! This is so much easier than having the kids frost cookies (shatter!) and painting? On cookies? They lose their minds it is so fun. And the cookies are delicate and delicious with the hint of citrus zest. Yummy. Make them with your favorite helpers. They will forever remember it.

3 Reviews

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insanesquash on 1.2.2011

The orange zest made these cookies stand out from your standard sugar cookie. And I loved the egg yolk glaze, so much easier than icing! I’ve always been a little too lazy to decorate with royal icing, but they are good without it! I have also used the egg yolk glaze on sugar cookies I’ve made from a mix, it really makes them special.

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zina on 12.21.2010

These orange-kissed cookies stand out on my Christmas cookie tray. Even the simple egg yolk glaze makes them so pretty. Decorating further, even more fun! These will definitely be on my future cookies trays!

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Nicole on 5.19.2010

These are a staple with my family now. Every holiday, every time we need to bring a desert or treat, these are always requested. My mom loves them, and that’s saying a lot because she grew up on my grandma’s sugar cookies, which were always phenomenal. It is very important not to over bake them (in my book). They make deliciously soft, tasty cookie. If you ask me they don’t even need the icing to be wonderful.

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