By Christmas prep. The menu. The enormous, beautiful, ridiculous menu that has grown every year since Mama died because grief adds dishes the way rivers add tributaries — the water keeps coming and the channel keeps widening. This year: turkey (spatchcocked; Curtis has accepted the science), ham (pineapple and cloves, Mama's forever), dressing, greens, mac and cheese, yams, bourbon sweet potato casserole, cranberry relish, Claudette's rice and peas, Claudette's sweet potato pudding, Marcus's salsa (on everything), Jasmine's cornbread, rolls (still perfect; the streak continues), pecan pie, peach cobbler. The menu is a map of the family. Every dish is a person. Every flavor is a story.
I baked Christmas cookies with all four kids. ALL FOUR. In my kitchen. At the same time. The flour coverage was total. The chaos was beautiful. Isaiah — Isaiah — made sugar cookies without being asked and decorated them with a precision that surprised everyone including himself. He said, "I like the decorating part." I said, "The decorating is the best part." He said, "It's like painting." Zoe, the artist, looked at him and said, "I TOLD you." They had, apparently, discussed this. Siblings. The word is sticking.
After that flour-covered, chaotic, absolutely perfect afternoon, I needed to write down the recipe we reached for — because if Isaiah is ever going to pick up a piping bag again on his own, I want this one waiting for him. Christmas Lights Cookies gave every kid something to do: Zoe went wild with color, Marcus did his cookies in salsa-red (of course), Jasmine made hers neat as her cornbread, and Isaiah — Isaiah — lined up his lights like he was hanging the real thing on the house. This is the recipe that made siblings out of all of them, at least for one afternoon.
Christmas Lights Cookies
Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 1 hr (includes chill time) | Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
- For the Royal Icing:
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons meringue powder
- 5–6 tablespoons warm water
- Gel food coloring in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple
- Black gel food coloring or black decorating icing (for the wire/cord)
- White sparkling sugar or clear sanding sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Make the dough. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, and milk; beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in the flour mixture until a soft dough forms.
- Chill the dough. Divide dough in half, flatten each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight).
- Preheat and roll. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness.
- Cut the shapes. Use a Christmas lights cookie cutter (or a simple bulb shape cut by hand) to cut out cookies. Re-roll scraps once. Place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake. Bake 9–11 minutes, until the edges are just set and the bottoms are very lightly golden. Do not overbake — the cookies should look barely done in the center. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
- Make the royal icing. Beat powdered sugar, meringue powder, and 5 tablespoons warm water with a hand mixer until thick and glossy, about 4–5 minutes. Add the remaining tablespoon of water a little at a time to reach a pipeable consistency. Divide into small bowls and tint each with gel food coloring: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and black for the cord.
- Decorate. Use the black icing to pipe a cord/wire across the top of each cookie. Then fill each bulb shape with a bright color of your choice — or let the kids each pick their own. Let decorated cookies sit at room temperature until icing is fully set, at least 1 hour. Sprinkle with sanding sugar before icing sets for sparkle, if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 210 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 33g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 75mg