It’s Christmas Cookie Time…

Who doesn’t love sugar cookies? They are crisp and delightful, sinfully simple. Coated with colorful icing or sprinkled with with sparkling sugar they never fail to delight children, teachers, grownups and of course, Santa. We make tons of batches of Sugar Cookie dough during the holiday season. My kids love rolling, and rerolling, cutting and decorating. Sometimes we’ll make a sweet frosting, but most of the time I just like sprinkling the cutouts with decorative sugar before going into the oven. I am sure many of you already know this, but always check the label of your sugars…some use shared facilities that may not be safe for you or your food allergic child.

Here is my favorite All Purpose Sugar Cookie recipe, made without dairy, eggs or nuts of course! Enjoy!

DAIRY, EGG AND NUT FREE SUGAR COOKIES

Double the recipe to make a big batch for you and the kids.

• ¾ c. dairy free shortening
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• ½ c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
• 2 ¾ c. all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

In a mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment combine shortening, sugar, applesauce and vanilla thoroughly. In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt with a wire whisk. Add to shortening mixture and mix on low until combined. Chill dough in refrigerator for one hour or more.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside. Roll dough to ¼ inch thickness on floured board. Dip cookie cutters in flour and cut out desired shapes. Bake 8-10 minutes or until very light golden. Cool completely on baking sheet.