It’s hard to believe it’s already December, and the month will only fly by faster and faster. One of my favorite holiday activities is baking and decorating sugar cookies with my kids! I hope we can squeeze this activity into our busy schedule this weekend. We love giving the finished cookies as gifts to family and friends, and of course we like to eat them, too!

We usually make sugar cookies and use cookie cutters to create snowflakes, trees, gingerbread men and other shapes. Then, we use frosting, sprinkles, and other decorations to make our masterpieces. As you can imagine, the sprinkles are my kids’ favorite part!

Sometimes, we’ll make other types of holiday treats: peanut butter balls, candy cane Rice Krispies treats, pretzels and more.

Do you like to bake and decorate holiday cookies? Tell me about your favorite baking traditions in the comments, I’d love to hear from you!

Fun Facts About Sugar Cookies

  • Sugar cookies date back to 7th century Persia. According to Bakerpedia, the sugar cookies we enjoy today were first made by Protestant settlers in the Nazareth colony in Pennsylvania. They created the dough in the shape of a keystone, the state’s emblem.
  • July 9 is celebrated as National Sugar Cookie Day. I’m surprised this day isn’t in December!
  • The main ingredients in sugar cookies are sugar, flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, and either baking powder or baking soda.
  • In the 1930s, sugar cookies became popular in the United States as a thank you gift to Santa Claus for bringing presents.
  • Cookie cutters were introduced to the US in the 17th century by German and Dutch settlers. 

Decorating Sugar Cookies

You can decorate sugar cookies in so many different ways! Many people (like my husband) prefer to eat them plain, without any sweet treats on top. Those of us with a sweet tooth, however, love to add a special touch to sugar cookies with icing and decorations.

It’s easy to buy a can of frosting or icing and simply spread it on the cookies after they’ve been baked. You can also add food coloring to white frosting to make new colors. Or, make your own royal icing with confectioner’s sugar and egg whites! Royal icing hardens to a candy-like texture, which makes it ideal for creating designs on cookies.

Be sure to let your cookies cool before starting to decorate them! Warm cookies will quickly become a mess if you start too soon.

Want to create beautiful snowflakes, snowmen and Christmas trees out of your sugar cookies? Sally’s Baking Addiction has step-by-step instructions you can find here.

Scan Your Purchases

Whether you’re buying a cartload of supplies to bake and decorate your own cookies this season or you’re keeping it simple with store-bought cookies, don’t forget to scan your purchases. This might include extra flour, sugar, decorating supplies and more. We know it’s a busy time of year and we appreciate your efforts to report shopping trips!

If you’re not already a member of National Consumer Panel, click here to join! You can share your shopping experiences, earn great rewards, and influence what you see on store shelves.

Regards,
Taylor

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