Cinnamon Sugar Sticks

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-3/4 cups slivered almonds, toasted and ground (about 7 oz.)
• 3 oz. white chocolate, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. shortening
• 1/3 cup red cinnamon candies, crushed
• 1/3 cup coarse decorating sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In mixing bowl beat butter on high 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until combined. Beat in baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

3. In medium bowl combine flour and almonds. Beat as much flour mixture as you can into butter mixture. Stir in remaining flour mixture.

4. On lightly floured surface roll or pat dough to 14x7-inch rectangle, about 1/2-inch thick. Cut in half, making two, 14x3 1/2-inch rectangles. Cut crosswise into 1/2-inch wide sticks. Use a metal spatula to transfer to baking sheets, placing 1 inch apart. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until firm and edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Transfer cookies to rack to cool completely.

5. In small heavy saucepan melt chocolate and shortening over low heat, stirring constantly. In wide shallow bowl combine crushed candies and sugar. Dip sticks in chocolate then in candy mixture. Place on waxed paper to set. Makes 56 sticks.

6. To store: Place cookies, separated between waxed paper, in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Freezing Sugar Cookies

have a lot of cookies that I want to give and mail next week, but I knew I wouldn't have time to do it all at once. So, last night while watching The Year Without a Santa Claus and Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys (not recommended, BTW...stick with the original), I baked cookies...over 70 of them.

The cookies were bagged in gallon-size freezer baggies, between layers of wax paper (did you know Thomas Edison invented that...what a great guy!). Then, these were placed in freezer-safe plastic containers and will be ready when I am ready to ice them.

To thaw, just take them out of the freezer about 2 hours or more before decorating. (Do not refrigerate.)

Cookies already decorated with royal icing can also be frozen! This is great if you're planning a big party, just make your cookies in advance and pop in the freezer. Again, take them out a few hours before you need them, and you are all set. If you've bagged them, leave the cookies in the bags to thaw.

Decorating Sugar Cookies

I haven't started my Christmas baking yet, but I'm sure I will make at least 1 dozen package cookies sometime this month.

I love this cookie...it's cheerful and makes a great gift for just about anyone. I've made THOUSANDS of this cookie over the past nine years...take a peek at some of the variations...

The squiggly lines were made by dragging a toothpick through wet icing. For the holly leaves (I like the ones in the top pic best), I piped dots of royal icing onto the dried flood icing and then added leaves with a food coloring pen (Americolor Gourmet Writers).

And, of course, there are dots! To learn more about adding dots, click here.

Last year, I decided to change up the bow a little and add sanding sugar. Here's how to do it. I thought plain packages with the sugar would be cute, but ended up reverting back to dotty ones. :)This year, I think a light blue and red package would be really sweet!

Sanding Sugar Cookies

Today I tried a new way to apply the sanding sugar and I really love it! (Thank you, Martha!) When I first started making cookies, it used to really bother me that when I put sparkling sugar on a cookie, it would dent the icing. The trick is to put it on dry, not wet icing!

Up until now, I've heated up a little corn syrup (light) and brushed the area I wanted to sand with a small paintbrush. This works great, but it's sticky and when you're making 200 cookies, going back and forth to the microwave to reheat corn syrup is a drag.

Here's the new way...mix a little meringue powder with water. Brush this onto the area to be sanded. It flows better, isn't sticky and dries really well. A few more hints:

• Use a child's size paint brush. You can trim the bristles if they are fanning out too much.
• Be sure the cookies are dry before starting, otherwise the sugar will stick to and dent the wet icing. I always let them dry overnight.
• Pour some sparkling sugar or sanding sugar into the cap or a small ramekin. Once your cookie has been brushed with the mixture, sprinkle the sugar on top, holding it over a basket-style coffee filter. Shake off the excess over the coffee filter as well. This excess can easily be emptied back into the cap/ramekin.
• Sanding sugar is a smaller grain that sparkling sugar...both are really pretty, but I think sanding sugar has more sparkle. I never wanted to use it because "sparkling sugar" just sounds prettier!