Santa Baby Sugar Cookies

This cheery cookie is sure to put anyone in the Christmas spirit. This recipe allows you to turn a simple heart shaped cookie into jolly old St. Nicholas, which will bring a smile to anyone's face.  Wow your family with these cookies at your Christmas feast or give them to a friend as a festive present.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 6-7 minutes
Total time: Around 30 minutes

Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups flour
24 Red Hots
24 marshmallows
Heart shaped cookie cutter
Mini chocolate chips
Vanilla frosting
Red food coloring
Edible white glitter flakes

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add baking powder and flour one cup at a time, mixing after each addition. The dough will be very firm. Do not chill dough.

2. Take about an eighth of the dough out of the mixer and roll it out with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Roll the dough to be about ¼ inch thick, dough should be only slightly thinner than the cutter, and cut with the heart shaped cookie cutter.

HINT: Flour both the rolling pin and counter generously to keep the dough from sticking to either.

3. Place the cut dough on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

4. Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until cookies are slightly browned. Remove from sheet immediately and place cookies on a wire rack to cool.

5. Once fully cooled, take ¾ cup of vanilla frosting and make it red using a few drops of red food coloring. The pointed part of the heart is the top of the cookie and will be Santa's hat. Use a knife to add the frosting hat.

6. To make his beard, swirl vanilla frosting at the bottom of the cookie, leaving space between the red hat and the cheeks.

7. Add a half a drop of red food coloring to ½ cup vanilla frosting to create pink frosting to make rosy cheeks for the Santa.

8. Add the edible white glitter flakes to the beard.

9. Make your own pastry bag by taking a plastic baggie and cutting a small hole at one of the bottom corners. Add white frosting to trim the hat.

10. Add a Red Hot for the nose, two mini chocolate chips for the eyes and a marshmallow for the top of the hat.

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