Holiday Baking
Hello and welcome back to my blog! Today we’ve got Christmas Sugar Cookies and a life update so it’s gonna be a juicy post! First thing’s first: holiday baking. I absolutely love the festivities of the holidays and holiday baking is one the most fun activities. It’s especially exciting this year because it’s something you can do AT HOME — AKA the place you haven’t left since last spring!!
Usually when my family comes over for Christmas, I’ll make an assortment of 5-7 different cookies. It’s a little stressful coordinating everything but it brings me so much joy to prepare it all and know I did that! I would love to make my own Christmas cookie box for this blog at some point in the future because I love seeing other food bloggers’ Christmas cookie boxes. However, if I’m going to make a Christmas cookie box, I’m going to do it right. I didn’t feel prepared enough to make one this year, but I do have this fantastic recipe for Christmas Sugar Cookies to make up for it!
Christmas Sugar Cookies
I feel like sugar cookies are underestimated and often looked over. I get it. On a surface level, they’re kinda plain looking and don’t really have a distinct flavor. But I also think that’s why they’re great! I don’t know — maybe it’s because I’m the type to root for the underdog — but sometimes I feel like something simple is exactly what you need. It grounds you, brings you back down to Earth, and reminds you of why you love it all over again. I could also be a little bias towards sugar cookies because these Christmas Sugar Cookies and I go wayyy back. They were actually one of the catalysts that further sparked my interest in food.
When I started middle school, my family had just moved into a new house with a spacious kitchen. My cooking was limited to watching and assisting adults in my life to do the easy steps. One day, my mom and I went to Crate and Barrel and we ended up buying Christmas sprinkles and cookie cutters. For whatever reason, I decided that that Christmas I was going to bake the best sugar cookies ever. I went on the hunt for sugar cookie recipes and tried each one until I found THE one. I baked them on Christmas day, decorated them with icing for my family, and they were a hit!
This process of testing recipe after recipe was almost like a fun challenge to me and I loved it. Doing this also made me realize that I enjoy making food for a crowd. From then on, I started making more dishes for family gatherings and you better believe that, since then, these Christmas Sugar Cookies are always on the table for Christmas.
These Christmas Sugar Cookies are a tried and true recipe. I promise it will not let you down. These are the perfect chewy sugar cookies to bake for the holiday season! As previously mentioned, I still make these cookies every Christmas and they somehow continue to impress my family members even though they’ve had it for years and years. I’d even go as far to say that my younger cousins look forward to these cookies more than their presents. They’re simple, easy, and delicious! What more can you ask for?!
Life Update
In the midst of the holiday baking frenzy, there have been some changes in my life. As some of you may know, I came out to LA back in March and have been living with my sister in her apartment since then. However, I am now officially living on my own! My sister and her boyfriend bought a townhouse and moved into it this past weekend so big congratulations to them. I also want to thank my sister for being kind enough to let me live with her for so long. I truly appreciate it. I’ll be staying in her apartment until her lease ends and then I’ll be moving into an apartment of my own. So it’s now me, myself, and I.
I’m not going to lie, I was a little afraid to be alone again. In college, I was the most independent person ever. I was completely fine doing things on my own and being alone for long periods of time. However, when I moved to LA I, I was living with my sister, her boyfriend who would occasionally stay over for a few days, and her 2 cats. I was constantly surrounded by people and animals and I loved the company. On days when my sister and her boyfriend would go out and do their own thing, I would feel a little lost sitting in the apartment by myself. I didn’t know what to do with myself.
Knowing how I felt on those days, I was nervous to be on my own again. But my anxiety signaled to me that it was something that needed to happen because we all have to learn how to be okay with being alone. When I was in college, I was a little too independent. Then when I lived with my sister, I became too dependent. Now, I think I’m in the phase of finding the balance between the two, and I’m happy to report that I’m on day 3 of being alone and I actually feel a lot more okay than I expected.
It’s also surreal because I’m taking baby steps forward in establishing my new life here in LA. In college, I always wondered where I’d be after I graduated and whether I’d actually be able to move to LA. It’s a little mind-blowing to see myself starting to grow roots here, but I could not be more happy.
Bake Away
If you live alone and are starting to feel a little bored in quarantine, start baking! There’s no better way to pass time and indulge in the holiday festivities than baking up a tray of cookies! These Christmas Sugar Cookies are a great recipe to follow if you’re looking for something simple and easy to bake. They’re moist, chewy, and extremely addictive! Let me know if you try out this recipe in the comment section below! Thanks for joining me today and I’ll catch you in my next post!
Christmas Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the Sugar Cookies
- 1 1/3 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 Stick Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
- 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tbsp Buttermilk
- As Needed Christmas themed sprinkles (for decorating)
For the Icing
- 3 tbsp Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
- 4 oz Cream Cheese (at room temperature)
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
Instructions
For the Sugar Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line a few sheet trays with parchment paper. set them aside for later.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to a bowl. Mix the ingredients with a whisk until they are evenly distributed.
- In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until they turn light and fluffy. Then mix in the egg and vanilla extract until combined. Add in the buttermilk and mix.
- Pour in the flour mixture then mix until all of the dry ingredients have been combined and a dough has formed. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Scoop cookie dough balls about 2 tablespoons in size and place them onto the prepared sheet trays, spacing them about 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake them in the oven for 10-12 minutes. The edges should be set and the the center should still be soft.
- Remove them from the oven and give the tray a firm bang on the table to release any air. This will help them flatten. Allow them to cook on the trays for about 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Icing
- Add the butter and cream cheese to a bowl and beat them together until they are combined. Add in the vanilla extract and salt. Mix until combined.
- Gently pour in the powdered sugar then mix until an icing has formed.
- When the cookies have cooled completely, decorate them with the icing and sprinkles. Enjoy!
