Recipe Thursday #33: Special Santa Cookies

I found these in a Christmas recipe magazine and I thought they were super cute! My 6 year old nephew and I made them the other day and they were also super fun. They are a great project for kids, as they let them be creative and silly with their variations. My nephew even made Santa's dog to match. I hope you enjoy making them with the kiddos in your life!

Special Santa Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• Red food coloring (paste or liquid)
• Mini chocolate chips
• Red hot candies
• Snow frosting (recipe below) or white icing

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. In large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed until creamy
3. Add sugar to butter and mix well
4. Add milk and vanilla and mix well
5. Gradually add flour and mix until well combined
6. Remove 1 cup of the dough and set aside
7. Add red food coloring to remaining dough and mix until color is consistent
8. For each cookie, use red dough to make one 1-inch ball and five 1/2-inch balls. And use the plain dough to make one 3/4-inch ball and four 1/4-inch balls.
9. Place red 1-inch ball on parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten until about 1/2-inch thick
10. Attach plain 3/4-inch ball to red ball and flatten until 1/2-inch thick
11. Attach four red 1/2-inch balls for arms and legs and plain 1/4-inch balls for hands and feet
12. Lastly, shape remaining red 1/2-inch ball into hat and attach to head
13. Add mini chocolate chips for eyes and buttons
14. Repeat process for each cookie (recipe makes approximately 12 cookies)
    
15. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, then cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to complete cooling
16. Finish decorating using snow frosting (see below) with a piping bag and star tip, and red hot candies

Snow Frosting

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
• 4 to 5 Tbsp milk

Directions

1. In small bowl, beat shortening and vanilla with mixer until creamy
2. Gradually add 1 1/3 cups of the powdered sugar and mix well
3. Add 1 tablespoon of the milk and mix well
4. Gradually add remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix well
5. Mix in enough milk (3 to 4 tablespoons) to make frosting the right consistency for piping