December has always been my favourite month. And Christmas is my favourite part of the month. And making Christmas shortbread cookies is my favourite part of Christmas. So basically it all comes down to baking.
This year I made large Christmas tree shaped sugar cookies. They make for perfect Christmas presents that you can pack and gift. If you aren’t feeling Christmas-y already, then I suggest you make these cookies. They are super simple and require just 5 basic ingredients (psst- they are egg less). Decorating the Christmas shortbread cookies is the best part. You can gather a few friends and have a cookie decorating party- lots of cookies, lots of icing and lots of sprinkles.
You can make these Christmas shortbread cookies of any shape or size. Experiment with colours and icings. Decorate them with sprinkles or crushed candy or simply drizzle them with sugar.These cookies are just about having fun.
A few notes before you get started-
- Don’t bake your cookies by directly keeping them on the oven tray. Use a cookie sheet or 2 layers of butter paper. If you don’t have any of these, use 2 layers of aluminium foil
- Knead the dough properly. It may take some time but make sure you knead it until it can be rolled properly without cracking
- Do not over bake the cookies. You know your cookies are done once the edges become golden-brown. The cookies are soft when they are just out of the oven. Let them rest on the oven tray for 5 minutes before handling them.
- I used disposable piping bag to do the icing. If you don’t have a piping bag, simply use a knife or back of a spoon to spread the icing
- 2 cups butter, softened
- 1 cup castor sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 egg whites
- 4 cup icing sugar, sifted twice.
- Green food colour
- Pre-heat the oven to 180*C
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in vanilla
- Add flour and mix well. Mix until the dough comes together.
- If the butter is too soft, cling wrap the dough and refrigerate until it is tough enough to work with.
- Roll out the dough into a ¼ of an inch thick circle.
- Use a cookie cutter to cut the dough into the desired shape.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges become golden-brown. Le them cool completely before trying to lift them off the tray.
- Beat egg whites in a large bowl using a whisk or a spoon
- Add sifted icing sugar, half a cup at a time. Whisk well.
- Keep adding sugar until you achieve the desired consistency. If the icing is still runny, add more sugar.
- Add half tsp of green food colour and mix well.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and decorate your cookies.
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