While cookie exchanges may look a little different this year, baking and decorating cookies is always fun–especially during the holidays. We hope your eyes have enjoyed this photo–now satisfy that sweet tooth and bake up some crispy, buttery, sugar cookie treats!
Our Photography Process
Once our beautiful sugar cookies were baked, styled and carefully stacked in our tin, it was time for the stars to take center stage. With a tight crop and our selective focus set, we worked on lighting to capture the perfect highlights and sprinkle sparkles (say that 5 times fast). To achieve this, we used a soft box overhead and a more direct light source from the back left to give our cookies that magical glow. With a few final adjustments to our tin liner, the show was complete. ENCORE!
Recipe: Star Bright Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
Royal Icing (or icing of your choosing)
Decorative sprinkles
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, mix butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for about 30 seconds. Add sugar, salt and baking powder. Mix until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Add in eggs and vanilla, continue mixing until fully combined. Mix in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour by hand. Cover and chill about 20 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.
On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time to 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness. Using desired cookie cutters, cut dough into shapes. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 7 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack and let them cool completely.
To finish, we’re using Royal icing. Add the food coloring of your choice if desired. Pipe the icing onto the cookies, top with sprinkles.
Prepare a plate for Santa!