Sugar Cookie Cutouts (Pg 241)

Ahhh, the classic sugar cookie cutout. So simple, so tasty, so perfect. Of course, they really are anything but simple. Anyone who's ever made rollout cookies can tell you what a pain it is. The flour is flying everywhere, your hands are sticky, the counter is never big enough, the cookie cutters aren't sharp enough and the dough breaks constantly and you can't transfer the cookie onto the baking sheet without it breaking....on and on and that's just before they're baked. Once they're baked, you have to decorate them! Especially if you choose some fancy cookie cutters that are shaped like Santa Clause or the Three Wise Men. Because if you don't decorate them, they are just unidentifiable lumps. Is it a man, an animal, or a European country? Who knows? You need at least 3 different colors of royal icing and a very steady hand and you need to decorate those cookies.

Of course, it is just this kind of challenge that gets me all excited and ready to bake. So this year, for Christmas, I decided to finally put to use the Nativity Scene cookie cutters my mom had purchased....I dunno, 10 years ago? We had been afraid, very afraid, but I knew I was ready to face the fear. So I made my sugar cookie batter, refrigerated it overnight, and got to work rolling out cookies. And cutting them into the shapes of Mary and Joseph kneeling in prayer by the manger, a baby lamb, the giant star, the trumpeting angel, and of course the tiny baby Jesus in the manger. Oh Holy Night.....in sugar cookies. As of the writing, the cookies are not decorated. They are still unidentifiable lumps. Pictures will be coming.