These simple Christmas cut out cookies get a nutritious sourdough boost! Add decorations from simple to complex and enjoy the holiday season.
I think we all have memories of making Christmas cookies as kids! It can definitely be a lot of work for grownups, but it's absolutely worth it. Kids love feeling helpful, and it's also a lot of fun to see their creativity come through.
You can also make some delicious Honey-Sweetened Cut Out Cookies. I love using a single cutter on those to make them feel fancy. Spice things up with Gingerbread Cut Out Cookies.
I added sourdough here to help give a little happy tummy boost! I just find that letting the dough ferment can ease any tummy aches that might come from the extra and different foods this time of year. Sure, it doesn't counteract the sugar and such, but it sure does taste good!
Key Ingredients
Butter - I don't follow rules here - salted or not is fine, homemade butter or not.
Flour - You need all-purpose here to keep the dough the perfect texture. I like to buy organic unbleached when I'm not grinding my own flour.
Sourdough - Active or discard is fine. You'll obviously get more action if your sourdough is fed and happy, but we aren't counting on it as leavening.
Sugar - Cookies are a treat and they need sugar! I'm not afraid of sugar - I just prefer we make our own treats at home.
Powdered Sugar - This is the base for making royal icing.
Egg Whites - Whipping these up gives your icing a glossy shine!
How to Make Sourdough Cut Out Cookies
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 2: Stir in eggs one at a time until combined.
Step 3: Stir in sourdough and vanilla.
Step 4: Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Step 5: Add dry to wet and combine.
Step 6: Split dough in half and wrap in plastic and pop in the fridge.
Step 7: After souring, set dough out.
Step 8: Roll to ¼-inch thickness.
Step 9: Cut out cookies in desired shapes.
Step 10: Carefully transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan.
Step 11: Bake until lightly golden.
Step 12: Cool completely and set aside (you can freeze at this point!)
Step 13: Sift powdered sugar.
Step 14: Whip egg whites until frothy.
Step 15: Add lemon juice and powdered sugar and mix icing until glossy.
Step 16: Split into small bowls if you want to make different colours.
Step 17: Add icing outlines to cookies.
Step 18: Flood/fill with icing to desired decoration!
Tips and Tricks
- Bake cookies ahead for kids to decorate later. This lets you truly enjoy working with them as their patience won't run out.
- Like Elsa, let it go! Give the kids decorations, cookies, and let them go to town. Don't direct them or take over. This is what will make the best memories!
- Keep icing tightly covered while not using. You don't want it to set in the bowl!
- There's no need to pressure yourself to use natural dyes and decorations. If you are the open a can of frosting and grab a jar of sprinkles person, that's great! I always say do what fits your family and makes it fun.
FAQs
The sugar is enough to "preserve" the eggs in the icing. Especially because I use eggs that I know where they came from and are fresh, I'm not concerned about them sitting out. If using from the store, select pasteurized eggs.
I recommend freezing plain, baked cookies. This way you can stack them up without them sticking or risk cracking decorated cookies. Allow to cool completely on a rack before freezing in a bag or container. You can then thaw the night before you want to decorate.
I have gone as long as 4 days. It depends on your preference. You can bake them as quickly as a few hours (make the dough in the morning and bake at night). There isn't a ton of sourdough in here so I personally don't think it makes the cookies have a strong taste. I just feel like it helps our tummies to have soured dough mixed with the excess sugar of the season.
Besides "flooding" the cookies with coloured icing, you can use it to glue on sprinkles and other fun decorations. Nowadays it's actually quite easy to find natural dyes as well as naturally-coloured sprinkles.
Photos by Dante from Shire by the Sea
More Cookie Recipes
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Sourdough Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- ½ cup sourdough discard is fine
- 2 large eggs
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Royal Icing:
- 4 fresh egg whites
- 4 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Natural food dyes
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs in one at a time until well mixed. Add vanilla and sourdough until just mixed.
- In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients.
- Add dry to wet ingredients slowly until just incorporated.
- Empty dough onto a cutting board and form 2 rough disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a few hours or up to 4 days for long fermentation.
- When dough is ready, place onto lightly floured surface and roll to ¼-inch thick.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Use a small jar, cup, or cookie cutters, cut shapes into dough.
- Carefully place cookies on a tray lined with parchment paper.
- Use leftover dough cuttings by squishing thoroughly together and re-rolling to ¼-inch thickness and use cutters until remaining dough is all used up.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until just starting to lightly brown.
- Cool completely before icing or decorating.
Royal Icing:
- Beat egg whites in bowl with whisk or mixer at high speed until light and foamy.
- Gradually add sugar and lemon juice. Whisk rapidly until well incorporated and thickened.
- Cover with plastic wrap until ready to use. Make sure icing is always covered or contained when not in use.
- If you are creating different colours, use separate bowls/bottles and/or bags for each colour adding dye sparingly until desired colour is reached.
- Use to decorate cookies and add other simple decorations like sprinkles, sugars etc.
Notes
- Don’t be afraid to get creative! Cookies make great gifts!
- This makes a lot, or you can double it, and make ahead and freeze undecorated cookies.
- When your kids are really little, I find it best to bake the cookies ahead of time and just let them do the decorating as that's really their favourite part!
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