CHRISTMAS COOKIES
Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12
📷
COOKIES
½ cup softened butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cup gluten-free flour
½ teaspoon table salt
FROSTING
1 cup butter
1 ½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond milk
Food coloring (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking tray with cooking spray, then set aside.
Mix the butter and sugar in a bowl until creamy, then add the egg and vanilla.
Gradually add flour and salt to the mix until the dough is decently stiff, but still workable.
Spread a light layer of flour on a flat surface. Put half of the dough on the surface and sprinkle with flour. Roll out the dough until it is about ¼ of an inch thick.
If so desired, use cookie cutters to shape the cookies and carefully set them on the baking tray. Without cookie cutters, roll the dough into balls, then set on the tray.
Do the same with the other half of dough.
Put the cookies in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
Once ready, let the cookies cool.
Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and mix until creamy.
Add the vanilla and milk and stir until the mixture is combined.
When using food coloring, separate the frosting in multiple bowls. Add as many drops as needed in each bowl and mix until the color has completely blended into the frosting.
Once the cookies are completely cooled add the frosting.
CHRISTMAS COOKIES
My relationship with my best friend Ava has lasted for about fifteen years. For twelve of those fifteen years we have maintained a tradition of baking and decorating Christmas cookies during our winter break, which is normally a daylong task. This specific activity is significant in my life because my family never established any Christmas traditions of our own. I had always assumed that every other family worked the same way, so I never felt that I was missing out on any experiences. However, once I met Ava’s family, which consists of three sisters, one brother, and a mother and father, the exact same makeup as my family, I was shocked to find that this was not the case. In contrast to my family, Ava’s family is an intensely close unit that has many traditions that every member willingly takes part in every year. When I was introduced to her family dynamic, this characteristic was bewildering because her family, that was the same size as mine, could get along with each other, stick to an activity, and have so much fun at the same time. It was kind of like looking at my family in the mirror, but seeing a version of ourselves from an alternate universe. Inspired, I tried to create Christmas traditions for my family on many different occasions, although these attempts always resulted in someone becoming bored or irritated, followed by a lot of complaints.
When I was seven years old and Ava was eight years old, I described my failed attempts at making traditions with my family, which came as a surprise to her. As a result, she decided that we had to make a tradition of our own because her favorite part of December was all of the activities she did with her family. She wanted me to be able to experience the same joy that she did during the holiday season, even if it wasn’t with my family. We decided that baking Christmas cookies, was the best option because it was satisfying, productive, delicious, and fun.
Ava and I have developed the perfect method for this activity. One of the most important steps of this tradition that is not mentioned in my instructions is playing a Christmas playlist while baking, which should be a lengthy list because this is an all-day event. Personally, we like to start off with Michael Bublé’s album entitled Christmas. After that musical masterpiece we continue onto some classics, such as “Blue Christmas” by Elvis Presley, “Rudolph The Rednosed Reindeer” by Dean Martin, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee, “Last Christmas” by Wham! and “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, but the 1984 version, not the 2014 version. Then we’ll get into Mariah Carey, and eventually Justin Bieber.
For about three of these twelve years the two of us were diehard One Direction fans and were always extremely upset that they never came out with a Christmas album. In order to incorporate the group into our tradition we would use gingerbread man cookie cutters and colored frosting to make cookies that looked like each band member, which is both embarrassing and amazing.
Another important step that is not mentioned in my instructions is eating any failed cookies. If any of the cookies are deformed in any way, as in they broke or were a little burnt or any other excuse, it is important to eat them, especially with frosting. Also, it is important to sample the frosting every possible chance you get while decorating. The goal is to be full by the time all of the cookies are decorated.
This tradition has definitely changed my holiday experience for the better and there is no way that it could be discontinued because of a stupid gluten allergy. For this reason, I have developed a gluten-free recipe for our Christmas sugar cookies, along with a frosting recipe for decoration.
Inspired by:
Adam, Shay. "Gluten Free Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies." What the Fork. Cravings Pro, 27
Mar. 2019. Web. 14 May 2019.