Festive Holiday Cookie Ideas for Kids

The holidays call for delicious baked treats, and this year you can save time and establish a family tradition by getting your kids involved. Lure the little ones away from the television set by inviting them to help you bake with a simple recipe that yields many holiday cookie ideas.

All you need is a sugar-cookie recipe, cookie cutters, cookie decorations and the vivid imaginations of your children. To get the rest of your family involved, ask grandparents, aunts and uncles if they have any old cookie cutters on hand. Then, shop with your children at the grocery store so that they can really feel that they are an integral part of the cookie-preparation process. As you bake, you can share the stories behind the cookie cutters, their materials and their shapes with your children.

A Sugar Cookie Recipe

Using a basic sugar cookie recipe is a good way to begin; this way you can experiment with decorating and coloring the cookies. By adding food coloring to the mix, your children can conjure up some fun color combinations that they think look the best.

Here is a basic sugar cookie recipe to try:

¾ cup of butter

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla or lemon extract

2 ½ cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt-optional

Thoroughly mix the butter, sugar, eggs and flavoring.

Blend in the flour, baking powder and optional salt.

After everything is mixed in smoothly, chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Laying out your decorations is a good way to pass the time while the cookie dough is cooling. You might even want to put on some favorite holiday music to sing along with as you create your cookie-cutter art.

Use small, separate bowls to hold sprinkles, chocolate chips and raisins. The more organized you are, the smoother your family cooking adventure will go.

Once the dough has cooled, you're ready to use your rolling pin (this part is always a big favorite for children) and experiment with all the cookie cutters, both new and old. Before you get started, remember to first cover your rolling surface with a thick sprinkling of flour so that the dough won't stick after you roll it.

After the dough is rolled out, you can start stamping out cookies with the cutters. Try combining them to make intriguing new creations. Then add some sprinkles, raisins, chocolate chips, coconut and whatever else you and your children feel would make the best cookies for your family.

Some children feel that you can never have too many decorations. However, if a cookie is too overloaded with goodies, some of the top decorations may burn if you put the cookies back in the oven. Let your children know that they should let their artistic impulses run wild but remember that they probably don't want burnt cookies coming out of the oven.

When your children are finished, heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake your cookies for 6-8 minutes on a cookie sheet.

As your children grow, so will the amount of cookie batter that you need to mix up. You can double the sugar-cookie recipe so that you have enough not only for your family, but also for some extras to give away to grandparents and special friends.

Another great tradition to start with your children is to make extra batches of holiday cookies and deliver them to a senior center, local soup kitchen or homeless shelter. In this way you and your family have taken your baking a step farther and are offering joy to others. Your children may even inspire others to follow their example, and they may start a new tradition within their own families.

Article provided by Homesteader