Holiday Sugar Cookies

So, apparently its Christmastime. Where did the time go? Today is JiT’s last day in the office for 2012 and also Lilly’s last day of the year at daycare.

Speaking of daycare, things are going so, so, so great on that front. Within the last month she finally go to the point where she absolutely loves going to school. She talks about her teachers and the other kids all the time. She walks in the door with a huge smile on her face and when I come to pick her up I can hardly get her to put on her coat to go. I am amazed at how far she’s come and relieved that she’s thriving, happy and social. We’ve had our share of tears and colds and guilt and fears but ultimately, I think its been really great for both of us. So…huge tangent, but thats that update.

Another interesting tid-bit from the last month: For the first time as parents we actually managed to get Christmas cards sent! With a picture! With all of us in it! And they’re mailed…well 90 percent of them are mailed. Victory!! For those of you who aren’t on my snail-mail list here’s what we sent:

And the “out-take” on the back:

In case you’re disturbed, Lilly had a meltdown about wearing the furry hat, so we just embraced the freak-out as the camera snapped one final photo. Since it came out kind of priceless, we figured we’d use it and risk the inevitable guilt trip that 18-year old Lilly is sure to impose down the road. Which reminds me…My mom recently told me that when I was in elementary school, I made her a “Mom Report Card,” grading her on how she was doing as a mom. Apparently, I graded her a D+ in one area. She can’t remember what that was for, but her overall grade was something like a C average. So, apparently I sucked as a kid. Can’t wait to see what Lil has in store for me…

Anyway, what else? I took on another freelance assignment this month. Its a project management thing…much like the stuff I used to work on back at Edelman. So far its been a fun challenge. Definitely different than the consumer/media/recipe stuff I’ve been doing, but interesting. We’ll see how things go in January once the work picks up and everything is in full-swing.

I’ve actually gotten calls from a bunch of different friends and former co-workers about potential freelance work lately. Its been so flattering and exciting but also a little scary. Every time I start to get into a nice groove with the mom thing and the freelance thing, it seems like something else comes along and I’m constantly in fear of becoming overwhelmed. Lilly is always my first priority but I find myself getting kind of freaked out if the house isn’t as picked up as it should be or the laundry starts to stack up. Its been kind of a conundrum of late because whenever I start to get overwhelmed JiT’s immediate reaction is “Just quit doing freelance or, work is what you want then go back to full-time and we’ll hire a nanny.” Neither of those options feels right to me, but I don’t always know how to balance the line in the middle. Sometimes wearing part of each hat is just…too many hats. But I don’t want to give either of them up. But I also don’t want to be a crazy, exhausted raging B. So, I don’t know where I’m going with this.

This was supposed to be about cookies, wasn’t it? Okay…so I guess…I’m still trying to figure the rest of my life out but today has been a good day. So thats a victory. Now, back to the baked goods.

Cookies! In festive holiday shapes! With frosting!! Okay, so when I originally planned to bake these I envisioned beautiful, fastidiously decorated little Christmas trees with piped icing in about 40 shades of the rainbow. I even made a couple of different kinds of frosting and started by using a piping bag. Then I realized I was making a horrible, awful, ugly mess of perfectly good cookies. So I gave up. And started again. Luckily this was a very BIG batch of cookies I could play with.

So the final product are sugar cookies that have been absolutely smeared with royal icing and haphazardly topped with decorative sprinkles. Frankly, I think I like them more than the perfect ones I had envisioned. Or maybe I’m slipping into a sugar cookie Coma.

I will say that the dough itself is quite forgiving and easy to work with. I’d had Lilly “help” me (gave her a TINY piece of dough to roll while I did the real work) roll and cut them, so we did it over a couple of afternoons.

The dough stayed wonderfully wrapped in plastic in the fridge. And once they were baked, I froze them in zip-top bags until I got around to frosting them. I’m eating one now and its still very tasty. Crisp outer edges but slightly soft in the center. I’d added a touch of vanilla and some orange zest to the dough and they added a subtle but distinctive taste. I will say they come out better rolled thick, so be gentle with your rolling pin.

Vanilla Orange Sugar Cookies
Makes 4 to 6 dozen cookies, depending on size

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3 1/2 cups all-purpose
flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room
temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon orange zest, finely grated

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Combine flour with baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, then add the sugar and beat at
medium speed until light. Beat in eggs, vanilla and orange zest until fluffy
and very light. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and beat until
just combined. Divide the dough into two portions and wrap in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate until firm, at least an hour or overnight.

Heat the oven to 400°. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to
1/4 inch thick (or slightly thicker), using more flour for the rolling pin and on
the floured surface as needed to prevent sticking. Cut into desired shapes with
cookie cutters and place on cookie sheets. Gather scraps and reroll. If the
dough gets too soft, chill for about 15 minutes and try again.

Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until cookies are puffed and only just
barely starting to brown at the edges. Let cool slightly before moving to a
wire rack to cool completely.

When cool, glaze and decorate as desired.

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