Comments on: How To Make My All-Time Favorite Christmas Cookies

By: Janene Clapp

Janene Clapp — Sat, 12 Dec 2020 19:48:48 +0000

I have made these cookies for years. Each holiday had its own special cookie cutters…hearts for Valentines Day, shamrocks for St Pat’s Day, etc.
I’m not sure what the difference is, but I always have used the sour cream cookie recipe in the Betty Crockers cookie book. ( recipe on line, too) I think, as memory serves, the recipe is very, very similar. I think my recipe adds a little nutmeg but sometimes I omit that. And I add vanilla always, even though the recipe may not call for it.
BUT…here’s a few things I’ve learned. Don’t use butter. Don’t use chrisco. I only use margarine. For some reason, the dough just doesn’t set up correctly, and even though I chill it, the cookies spread so much the shape is lost! Maybe this is why others are having a problem?
Also, I always made a lot of these cookies and doubled the recipe. I learned that I couldn’t do more than just double it. If I tripled it and more, even though the dough looked fine, the cookies were tough. (and I hadn’t over rolled the dough) I learned to make the dough in batches of 2 only.
Hope this helps!

By: Terry

Terry — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 14:00:08 +0000

In reply to Terry.

Second attempt…After spending 24 hours in my meat drawer, the dough was much easier to handle. I dusted it with extra flour (on the generous side), rolled it out on a silicone pastry mat and cut out the cookies with no problems. The cookie-cutters sticking was actually a little helpful as I was able to simply lift the shape out of the dough and poke it out onto the cookie sheet. I balled up the scraps and put them back in the fridge to work with the other half of the dough, alternating and then combining what was left until it was all used.

I was skeptical about the use (and amount) of leavening as in my experience this causes rolled cookies to lose their shapes; but they just puffed up a little in the oven. I did decease the baking soda by half as I was afraid it would make the cookies bitter. Next time I may also reduce the salt.

By: Terry

Terry — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 02:43:44 +0000

In reply to Kat. I had the same problem and wanted to see if others had trouble with this. I use whole-grain flour which typically makes for a stiffer dough than white, but after 3 hours in the fridge the dough was still too soft to handle. It's colder here in Georgia so it doesn't seem that the weather is the problem. I put the dough back in a colder part of the fridge (the meat drawer) to see if I can roll it out semi-frozen.

By: Brooke

Brooke — Sun, 15 Dec 2019 22:47:54 +0000

Super disappointed in the amount ingredients wasted on this. Impossible to use dough even after 24+ hrs chilling.

By: Jami Koester

Jami Koester — Sun, 15 Dec 2019 01:02:14 +0000

In reply to Kat. Us too, but we are in Illinois! We added more flour...

By: Kat

Kat — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 23:01:30 +0000

I’m not sure what the issue was with this recipe, most likely being in Florida heat even in the winter (72 degrees in house), but I kept the batter in the fridge for 3 hours. I rolled it out and immediately began to place my cookie cutters. Within 4 minutes the dough was such a sloppy mess that I couldn’t even pick them up with a spatula. I’m a pretty avid cook and have never run into this with another cookie recipe. Will try again to test just to ensure it wasn’t an ingredients issue.

By: Barbara A Schillinger Schillinger

Barbara A Schillinger Schillinger — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 19:09:43 +0000

I have same sour cream sugar recipe I use often, BUT ( in the recipe photo putting an egg into Your red mixer bowl) didn’t your mother or home ec teacher teacher you NEVER break your egg directly into mixture, in case you get shells or a bad egg and waste all your good ingredients.!!! Love your hints.