Roly-Poly Santa Cookies
Santa sugar cookies very cute. I got it from Better Homes and Gardens but I see it everywhere on the internet.
Santa sugar cookies very cute. I got it from Better Homes and Gardens but I see it everywhere on the internet.
- Carbohydrate 1.0458 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.2974 g
- Fiber 0.795999984741211 g
- Protein 0.316 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0096 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (15g)
- Sodium 1.76 mg
- Sugar 0.249800015258789 g
- Trans Fat 0.0558 g
- Calories 7 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in milk and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Remove 1 cup of the dough. Tint the remaining dough with red food coloring.
- For each cookie, shape red dough into one 1-inch ball and five 1/2-inch balls. Shape plain dough into one 3/4-inch ball and four 1/4-inch balls. Place the red 1-inch ball on an ungreased cookie sheet; flatten until 1/2 inch thick. Attach the plain 3/4-inch ball for head; flatten until 1/2 inch thick. Attach four of the red 1/2-inch balls for arms and legs; attach the plain 1/4-inch balls for hands and feet. Shape and attach the remaining red 1/2-inch ball for a hat. Repeat with remaining dough, placing cookies 2 inches apart. Add chocolate pieces for eyes and buttons.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Carefully transfer to a wire rack; cool.
- Decorate cookies with Snow Frosting as desired. Attach cinnamon candies with small dabs of frosting for noses. Let stand until frosting is set.
- In a small mixing bowl beat shortening and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually beat in 1-1/3 cups of the powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in 1 tablespoon of the milk. Gradually beat in the remaining powdered sugar and enough milk to make frosting a piping consistency. Tint frosting as desired with food coloring.
Controlling Spread in Sculpted Doughs
Sugar cookie doughs must resist flattening under heat to preserve complex three-dimensional shapes like these molded figures. High butter content provides tenderness through fat interference in gluten development, but excess moisture causes structural collapse in the oven. When substituting standard dairy butter with plant-based solid fats containing higher water percentages, chilling the assembled shapes for 15 minutes before baking solidifies the triglycerides and prevents premature outward flow.
Managing Flour Hydration for Pliability
Dividing the base batch into uncolored and tinted portions requires careful flour incorporation to avoid tough textures from over-mixing. Adding the final flour increments by hand prevents excessive gluten strand formation that makes rolling difficult. If environmental humidity causes the dough to become tacky during the multi-part assembly process, kneading an additional tablespoon of all-purpose flour into the portions restores workable plasticity without compromising the final baked crumb.
Evaluating Thermal Doneness Visually
Because these cookies feature varying thicknesses between the main body and smaller appendages like arms and hats, monitoring doneness requires observing color transitions rather than relying solely on a timer. Baking at 325 degrees Fahrenheit ensures the butter melts evenly while the starches gelatinize, and pulling the sheets when the edges show a pale golden hue prevents the thinner extremities from scorching before the thicker center finishes baking.
