Christmas cut-out cookies are a holiday tradition in many families. These delicious, but simple, cookies have been part of our family tradition for at least 3 generations. The sour cream keeps the cookies moist, and the icing helps them stay that way. They don’t last long in most families!

If you have sour cream, butter, sugar and some cookie cutters, these aren’t very hard to make. And you can ice them with your whole family.

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened (preferably unsalted)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 31/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Butter cream icing(below)
• Colored sugars

1. Combine the butter and sugar together and cream using an electric mixer.
2. Add the sour cream, baking powder, soda, salt and vanilla.
3. Add the eggs and mix well.
4. Add the flour to make a soft dough.

5. Cover the mixer bowl with foil and chill in the refrigerator or freezer for an hour or so.
6. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
7. Take out only about a quarter of the dough at a time, and roll it out on a floured board, keeping the rest chilled.
8. Cut out the cookies and place on baking parchment on a cookie sheet, or directly on a greased cookie sheet.

9. Bake for 7-9 minutes until the edges have only just started to brown.
10. Cool the cookies on a wire rack and ice with butter cream icing and decorate with colored sugars.

Butter cream icing

• 1/4 lb (one stick) butter
• 1 lb confectioners’ sugar
• About 1/4 cup milk
• Soften the butter by pressing the wrapped stick with your hand or a rolling pin. Cut into pieces and place in a food processor. Add the confectioners’ sugar and pulse until uniform,

1. Add the milk, a little at a time until the icing is smooth and spreadable. Mix food coloring into portions of the icing so you have several colors available.

Ice the cookies and decorate with colored sugars. Let them dry for an hour or so before boxing them up.

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