Decorating Aunt Chick’s Jolly Santa Cookies!

Aunt Chick's Butter Cookie Recipe

Celebrate the holidays with this simple but elegant Shortbread buttery Santa cookie!

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 9

Cutting and Decorating 1

Total Time 1 29

Measure and sift your flour and salt together. We like to use King Arthur Flour for our cookies but any high-quality All-Purpose flour will work fine.

Soften your butter, room temperature is best. Then cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Mix until well combined and there are no sugar clumps left.
Combine the mixtures, adding half of the flour mixture at first. Then work in with your hands, half a cup at a time until the dough is well combined but not dry. You may not use all of the flour at this time. If not save it to use later in the rolling /cutting stage.

Divide the dough into three pieces and put in separate pieces of parchment or waxed paper. Chill the dough for at least one hour in the refrigerator (up to three days).
Once chilled work with one piece of dough at a time, leaving the other to chill further. The cooler the dough the easier it is to mold into the cookie cutters. Roll the dough on a piece of parchment paper, pastry cloth, or a floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top of your dough before rolling so that your dough does not stick. If you prefer to use less flour you can also use parchment paper or pastry cloth on top of the dough as well. The dough should be 1/8" - 1/4" in thickness.

Using a floured Aunt Chick’s Jolly Santa Cookie Cutter, gently make the initial imprints onto the dough pressing the cutter down into the dough and moving the cutter around to use as much of the dough as you can. Flour your cutter every few cuts.
Flip the cut dough into the floured cutter and press the dough into the cookie cutter. Flour your cutter after every few cuts, this will help the dough not stick to the cutter. Clean your cutter occasionally if it becomes too thick with flour.
Slap the pressed dough out into your hand, floured surface, or parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue to press the remaining cut dough pieces flouring your cookie cutter between each press.
Rework and re-roll the remaining scraps of dough, repeating these steps with the remaining, and chilled dough.

Everyone has their own way of decorating the Jolly Santa Cookie Cutter. I like to decorate my Santas before I bake them. This reduces the need for extra sanding sugars and the use of egg whites or corn syrup to get it to stick.
To do this you will add food coloring (red and black) to the egg yolk. Brush the eyelashes on with black and use red for the hat, cheeks, and mouth.

Bake at 350° until edges are lightly tinted (approx 8-10 min). Let cool before decorating for at least 20 minutes.

Frost the hat brim and top-notch, eyebrows and beard with the recipe below. Sprinkle with opal or silver sanding sugar or sprinkle with coconut flakes (optional).
Variation to decorating before baking: Use a 50/50 mixture of corn syrup and water painted onto Santa's hat and cheeks and sprinkle on red sanding sugar after baking.
Use raisins or chocolate chips (cut in half) for his eyes. Use royal icing instead of frosting for his hat, beard and eye brows and sprinkle with coconut flakes.

FROSTING

Mix by hand until all is blended. Then, with an electric mixer, beat for five minutes at high speed.

Keyword Christmas Cookies, Shortbread Cookies