Holiday Sugar Cookies

Thanksgiving and Christmas 2022 are on the horizon. Thanksgiving is my favorite celebrated holiday of all. It is a time to reflect and give thanks to God for all of His unspeakable gifts bestowed upon us in one year. Thanksgiving 2021 brought the curse of Covid to our family. It did a lot of damage and its effects lasted halfway through 2022. By God’s abundant grace and mercy I was not consumed and the rest of our family weathered the storm with minimal effects. To say I am so humbly thankful to be among the living is an understatement and once again to have the privilege to celebrate another Thanksgiving is truly a gift from God.

Einkorn is a bit of a challenge when it comes to sugar cookies, but this tweaked recipe from Jovial Foods is the best one I have found to work with. The cookies hold up well to decorating but the key is to not over bake and chill your dough.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups (270 g) All Purpose Einkorn Flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

  • 8 tablespoons (1113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar

  • 1 large egg

  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)

  • 1 tablespoon whole milk yogurt

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

  2. Cream together the butter and sugar for 2 minutes in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed, stopping a few times to scrape down the sides.

  3. Add the egg, yogurt and vanilla and mix for 1 minute until thoroughly combined.

  4. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just incorporated, scraping down the sides. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill the dough for 1 hour.

  5. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

  6. Working with half of the dough at a time, very lightly dust a piece of parchment paper and the rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough to ¼ inch thick. Cut out the cookies and place on the baking sheet 1 inch apart. Gather the scraps into a ball, chill for at least 10 minutes, then roll out again.

  7. Bake for 10 minutes until lightly golden around the edges. Cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack before decorating.

  8. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Original recipe from Carla Bartolucci’s book Einkorn. I omited the almond flour because it was optional and I found the cookies turned out better.