Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

One week to Christmas. The family is coming: CJ and Shanice and Caleb arriving Friday evening, Destiny and Travis Saturday morning, James and Dorothy for Christmas Day lunch only — they are spending Christmas Eve with Dorothy's family in Montgomery and driving to Tuscaloosa Christmas morning. Fourteen people again, because Carolyn is joining us this year, and Travis's brother Deon and his wife. I have borrowed the church table again.

Caleb's first Christmas. He will be four and a half months old. He will not know what Christmas is. He will know that the house smells different and that there are many people who want to hold him and that all the holding is accompanied by a quality of warmth that babies can feel before they have language for it. I want to make sure the house holds that warmth when he arrives — that he walks in (is carried in) and already feels what this house is, what the kitchen is, what it means to be in the place where the people who made you begin.

I baked my birthday cake on Sunday — the brown sugar pound cake with salted caramel glaze, third year running. It is mine now. It is the cake of this particular December, this particular kitchen, this particular woman who was born on Christmas and has found a way to make that fact a gift rather than a conflict. Fifty-four. I find I like it already. Fifty-four is a number that sounds like someone who has been somewhere and knows how to go somewhere else. I have been somewhere. I know how to go forward. The table is long enough and the kitchen is ready and the family is coming. Let it arrive.

The pound cake is mine — it belongs to my birthday and to no one else — but the house needs more than one thing working in its favor before fourteen people arrive and Caleb gets carried through the front door for the first time. Cut-out sugar cookies are what I make for the table, for the children, for the kind of slow afternoon baking that fills a kitchen with the exact smell a baby should grow up remembering. They are not complicated, which is the point: some things should just be good and present and ready, the way I am trying to be.

Prep Time: 25 minutes + 1 hour chill | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes | Servings: 36 cookies

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp whole milk
For the icing:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3–4 tbsp whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Food coloring, optional
Sprinkles or sanding sugar, for decorating

Instructions

Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add egg and vanilla. Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and beat on medium speed until fully combined, about 1 minute.
Incorporate the dry ingredients. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until the dough comes together. Add the milk and mix briefly until smooth. Do not overmix.
Chill the dough. Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into a disk, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days. Chilled dough holds its shape far better during cutting and baking.
Preheat and prep. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll and cut. On a lightly floured surface, roll one dough disk to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into shapes using your favorite cookie cutters. Transfer carefully to the prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies about 1 inch apart. Re-roll scraps as needed.
Bake. Bake for 8–11 minutes, until the edges are just set and the bottoms are very lightly golden. The tops should look barely done — they firm up as they cool. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the icing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and thick but pourable. Add the remaining tablespoon of milk a little at a time to reach your desired consistency. Divide into small bowls and tint with food coloring if desired.
Decorate. Spoon or spread icing onto completely cooled cookies. Add sprinkles or sanding sugar immediately, before the icing sets. Allow icing to harden fully, about 30 minutes, before stacking or serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cut-Out Sugar Cookies — The Sweet Work That Gets the House Ready for Caleb