Holiday Cut-Out Cookies

It would be impossible for me to pick one favourite Christmas memory - but one that comes to mind every year on the evening of December 24 is leaving out cookies for Santa. This was always a very big deal for me. I had to make sure to choose a selection of different cookies, including at least one of my favourite chocolate chip cookies. We also poured a glass of milk (now I've now come to realize that Santa may have actually preferred a hot drink, or maybe something a bit stronger...) and left carrots and celery for the reindeer. I left the plate of cookies on the table by our Christmas tree - and without fail every year, the next morning, the cookies would be gone, and the milk glass empty.

These cookies remind me of leaving cookies out for Santa. I used recipes for these cookies which you, dear readers, have already seen in scrambled eggs etc: I baked gingerbread cookies, and decorated them with Royal Icing. I also baked more shortbread cookies, which I dipped in melted chocolate or decorated with sprinkles.

It's not too late to bake some holiday cut-out cookies! A tip for rolling out dough - if your dough is too dry, it's going to be crumbly. This can make it a bit difficult to get your cut-out shapes to work. It's easier if you start the dough off too wet, since you'll be rolling it on a floured surface (with a floured rolling pin) - and this will help dry the dough out a bit more too.

A decorating tip: I did not use any fancy sort of piping kit to decorate the gingerbread. I spooned icing into a small plastic bag and cut a very tiny hole in one corner. The smaller the hole, the more control you'll have with decorating. 

I think Santa will be pretty happy when I leave out some of these cookies for him tomorrow night!

Happy Holidays and Happy Holiday Eating!

Caroline