Melissa currently resides in Nuremburg, Germany with her boyfriend, Justin, and she still managed to make some good ‘ole decorated sugar cookies for this years holiday cookie swap! With bakers all the way from New York and Germany– it’s no wonder why virtual cookie swaps are the way to go! And now for Melissa’s sugar cookies…
Justin and I were going to a housewarming party for one of his coworkers, and we decided to bring classic Christmas sugar cookies from Joy of Baking. I mixed the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl. Then creamed the butter and sugar together and added the eggs and vanilla (note the vodka bottle- it’s homemade vanilla!).
After that, I added the flour mixture and beat everything until the dough came together. I divided the dough in half and put in the fridge.
We rolled out the dough and starting cutting out cookies with our eclectic bunch of cookie cutters!
I baked the cookies for about 8 minutes at 350 degrees.
I made royal icing, but pasteurized the egg whites because I was serving them to other people and didn’t want to have to worry about salmonella. I boiled the eggs in water just until there were bubbles on the bottom of the pan, then let them sit in the hot water for a couple of minutes. Check out the tutorial I used here. I then used my hand mixer to beat the egg whites with some lemon juice, then slowly added the powdered sugar.
Then came the fun part!
Unfortunately, Germany does not have a ton of fun sprinkles and decorations. I just got multi-colored nonpareilles and red and green food coloring, but Justin was still able to make a hippo in a santa suit!
And the cookies were a big hit at the party.
Thanks Melissa and Justin!
3 Responses
Melissa, any leftovers that you brought over the “pond” for us???? They look great!
This recipie is tried and true!! I also use this version and they always come out great!
Melissa’s cookies are always a big hit and cut out Christmas cookies are definitely a tradition at our house. Great that even a hippo can get into the Christmas spirit. Have fun with Miss Meliss while she visits in the city by the bay.