Swirl Sugar Cookies

Oh my goodness- love is in the air…..

In the last week, 2 couples I know got engaged (plus  I had the added pleasure of being there and being their “of the moment” photographer) ((woo hoo Logan & Katie and John & Jess)), my college roomie got hitched (Congrats Watty- I heart you), and 2 other friends of mine had a baby (welcome to the world Sahana Lorraine and welcome to the world of parenthood Marc & Ramya- can’t wait to meet her :). 

So what does one bring to a secret engagement party masquerading as a Christmas party?  Only the most Christmas-y cookie imaginable.  I really wanted to bring pink heart-shaped cookies with the word “CONGRATS” written across every one, but that might  have clued someone into the surprise…

So instead, I whipped up a batch of crispy, crunchy, buttery, swirl sugar cookies.  These take a little bit of work, but the end result is so worth it.  You’ll impress everyone with your uber-awesome Christmas cookie skillz.

Yes- that's skillz with a ‘z’, because your peeps will think you’re that awesome.




Do you have a culinary trick up your sleeve that you use to impress your friends when needed?

Adapted from this recipe

What You’ll Need:

• 2 cups AP Flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 2/3 cups Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 1/2 sticks of Butter, room temp, cut into chunks
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• Food Coloring
• Sprinkles!

What To Do:

1. In your mixer bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, powdered sugar, and granulated sugar until mixed.  Gradually add in butter until incorporated and then add the vanilla.  At this point, the dough will form a ball around your paddle (if using a stand mixer)
2. Remove half your dough and set aside.  Add food coloring of your choice (I obviously went with red) and mix in until you get the desired tint.  If you add a lot, you may need to add a little bit of extra flour if the dough gets too sticky.
3. Roll out each portion of dough between 2 sheets of wax paper until roughly 11x9 and ¼ inch thick.  Place on cookie sheet and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
4. When firm (and it will be firm but don’t worry), remove the top sheets of wax paper from both.  Brush the uncolored dough with a little bit of water using a pastry brush.  Then flip the colored dough on top of it.  Remove the wax paper from the colored and trim the edges of both layers to get smooth straight edges.  Start to roll into a log, pinching together any tears that might occur.  Once completed rolled, pour sprinkles into a shallow dish and roll the cookie log in them, covering the entire outside with sprinkles.  Double wrap in plastic wrap and chill for several hours (I did mine over night).  You can also freeze it and keep it for up to 2 months, just thaw in fridge overnight before planning to bake.
5. Once chilled, preheat oven to 350.  Slice into ¼ inch cookies and place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.  Let rest on baking sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack.