Those sound good teabab. I really like the bar type, or sheet, cookies. They seem a lot more foolproof for those of us who may not be accomplished bakers.
I'll throw in a plain old fashioned Sugar Cookie recipe since it wouldn't be Christmas without some iced cookies in the shape of Christmas trees, snowmen and little Santas.
Sugar Cookies:
1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For Sugar Cookies: In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.
Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch (1 cm). (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.) Cut out cookies using a lightly floured tree cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking.
Bake cookies for about 10 minutes (depending on size) or until they begin to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Frost with royal icing, if desired. Be sure to let the royal icing dry completely before storing. (This may take several hours.)
Store between layers of parchment paper or wax paper.
Makes about 20 - 4 inch cookies.
Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:
1 large egg white
1 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups (165 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
Note: Royal Icing is that nice shiny stuff that makes your cookies look nice, but if you don't store the cookies in an airtight container it will get really hard. For icing that won't harden as much you might want to use Confectioners Icing.
Confectioners Frosting:
2 cups (230 grams) confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted
1/2 cup (57 grams) butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons milk
Of course you can color either type of icing in various festive colors with food coloring. And you can add various sprinkles or candies to further enhance how your cookies look.
