If at first you don't suceed . . . . by now its time to give up.
Christmas cut-out cookies have been a staple in my home for as long as I can remember. I don't ever remember making them (as in rolling out the dough) but I do remember cutting them out with cookie cutters and decorating them.
I love these cookies. They are the perfect amount of sweetness and they have always been on the dessert table at Christmas. My mom has used the same recipe since...they invented butter. There are no secret ingredients and no crazy instructions like "add to taste" or "until it looks right". So why can't I make these cookies?
Oh, I've tried, tried, again. I am pretty sure that I have thrown away the dough at least 75% of the time without ever producing a single cookie. The rest of the time the cookies actually took shape and were baked, but then I tossed them because they didn't taste right.
What is the secret? Well, last Easter my mom was at my house and I decided instead of painting eggs we were going to make cut-out cookies shaped like eggs and paint them. My mom's presence provided the perfect teaching opportunity. Mom supervised my mixing, rolling, and cutting, and the cookies turned out perfect. Success!
So, last night when the boys and I set out to make our own Christmas cookies I was feeling really good about the adventure. The butter was room temperature, I followed every detail of the recipe, and double checked every ingredient. This was going to work! And then the dough stuck, I had to roll it out a million times, the cookies are too thin, they look down-right scary, and they don't taste right.
The boys don't know the difference so they were quite pleased, but I was left standing in the kitchen, covered in flour, butter, and coffee (that isn't part of the recipe but it helps my sanity) looking at those uglytastingwrong cookies saying to myself "you tried . . . just give up".
This is why every year at Christmas my mom sends me a special box. It is the box that holds all my favorite Christmas cookies and her famous fudge inside. I think I can handle the Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Chip, Butterfinger Crunchies, and Peanut Butter cookies on my own, but mom, please send me some cut-out cookies and fudge!!
I love these cookies. They are the perfect amount of sweetness and they have always been on the dessert table at Christmas. My mom has used the same recipe since...they invented butter. There are no secret ingredients and no crazy instructions like "add to taste" or "until it looks right". So why can't I make these cookies?
Oh, I've tried, tried, again. I am pretty sure that I have thrown away the dough at least 75% of the time without ever producing a single cookie. The rest of the time the cookies actually took shape and were baked, but then I tossed them because they didn't taste right.
What is the secret? Well, last Easter my mom was at my house and I decided instead of painting eggs we were going to make cut-out cookies shaped like eggs and paint them. My mom's presence provided the perfect teaching opportunity. Mom supervised my mixing, rolling, and cutting, and the cookies turned out perfect. Success!
So, last night when the boys and I set out to make our own Christmas cookies I was feeling really good about the adventure. The butter was room temperature, I followed every detail of the recipe, and double checked every ingredient. This was going to work! And then the dough stuck, I had to roll it out a million times, the cookies are too thin, they look down-right scary, and they don't taste right.
The boys don't know the difference so they were quite pleased, but I was left standing in the kitchen, covered in flour, butter, and coffee (that isn't part of the recipe but it helps my sanity) looking at those uglytastingwrong cookies saying to myself "you tried . . . just give up".
This is why every year at Christmas my mom sends me a special box. It is the box that holds all my favorite Christmas cookies and her famous fudge inside. I think I can handle the Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Chip, Butterfinger Crunchies, and Peanut Butter cookies on my own, but mom, please send me some cut-out cookies and fudge!!
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