Holiday baking is all about sugar cookies, frosting, sprinkles and 4 year olds!

Last night my friend Ainsley and I made Alton Brown’s sugar cookies, complete with Royal Icing frosting and lots of colored sugar and sprinkles. It was Ainsley’s first cookie cutter experience and she proved to be a natural pastry chef.

I also made some miniature bee sugar cookies. Instead of icing, on these I used an egg white wash and sprinkled on jimmies and colored sugar before baking. Alton’s advice of using powdered sugar instead of flour for rolling out the dough was fantastic and these buttery little bees were delicious. My nickname is ‘the busy bee’ so I couldn’t resist this new cute cookie cutter (although I have about 30 or more other shapes). I’m still buzzing around in the kitchen making the winter soups and even candied orange and grapefruit peel, so watch for more postings while I’m on winter break from my regular classroom and culinary duties.
Stay well, eat well and bee well!

Sugar Cookies
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown Makes about 3 dozen-2 1/2 inch
Ingredients
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk
• ¼ tsp vanilla
• Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough
Directions
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine.
Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar.
Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill.
Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time.
Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired.
Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.