One of my favorite parts of Christmas dinner is popping open crackers! They contain a crown (a throw back from when, on Christmas, fools were allowed to be kings for the night, a joke (maybe also tied to the fool), and a little trinket. They pop open with a bang and couldn’t be more festive! This cookie is a way to bring some of the fun to the table, and eat it too!
This is just a basic sugar cookie- but it is big, I would do one for every two people and they can just eat the part they break off! Or, do one per person and write guests’ names on them for a dinner party name card, they can eat it for a few days and remember the good times they had! Use the template and glue the pieces together using royal icing. Fill up with your favorite sprinkles (you could also include a joke!) and you are ready to celebrate!
The template is here– cut out two solid pieces and one window piece per cookie. Then stack, fill and frost!
alton brown's sugar cookie
Ingredients
- 3 c flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 c butter softened
- 1 c sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tbs milk
- powdered sugar for rolling out dough, or flour
Instructions
- sift together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside
- with stand mixer, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy
- add egg and milk and combine
- add in flour, mixing on low. beat until mixture pulls from side of bowl
- make 2 disks of dough, place in plastic bag and put in fridge for at least 2 hours (longer is better, so egg protein has a chance to spread)
- pre heat oven to 375
- powder rolling surface or parchment paper with powdered sugar and roll out dough about 1/4'' thick. you can either pull dough away from cutter and leave shape on parchment paper or transfer the shape to another sheet of parchment paper using a spachula.
- place parchment paper on cookie sheet and bake for 9-11 mintues
royal icing
Ingredients
- 6 c confectioners sugar sifted!
- 3/4 c water
- 1/3 c meringue powder
Instructions
- with mixer on low, drizzle water over confectioners sugar
- mix on low for about 7 minutes, do not put mixer any higher than low or you get loads of air bubbles
- add coloring as needed, if you want thicker frosting, add more sifted confectioner sugar in 1/4 c increments