In large bowl, beat butter, sour cream and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.
Add egg, lime peel, 1 tablespoon lime juice and the vanilla; beat until smooth.
On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda and salt until dough forms.
Gather dough into ball; divide in half.
Shape each half into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate 1 hour.
Heat oven to 375°F.
Place pastry cloth on work surface; sprinkle with flour.
With floured cloth-covered rolling pin, roll 1 disk of dough until ⅛ inch thick.
Cut with floured 3-inch fluted cutter.
With 1-inch scalloped or fluted canapé cutter, cut out center of each circle.
On ungreased cookie sheet, place wreath cutouts 1 inch apart.
Cut each small cutout in half; brush backs of small cutouts with water and place on wreaths for bows.
Repeat with second disk of dough.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until edges start to brown.
Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack; cool completely.
In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the lime juice with whisk.
Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until glaze is thin.
Working with a few cookies at a time, brush glaze over cookies and immediately decorate with sugars or sprinkles.
Let stand until set.
Store in layers with waxed paper between.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Kitchen Secrets
Silicone brushes work very well for brushing the glaze onto the cookies. They can be purchased in most kitchen stores or kitchen sections of department stores.
In large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add lemon peel and egg; beat until well blended.
On low speed, beat in flour and salt until well blended.
On floured surface, roll dough until ⅛ inch thick.
Cut with lightly floured 2½- to 3-inch snowflake-shaped cookie cutter.
On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts 2 inches apart.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies just begin to brown.
Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
In small bowl, mix powdered sugar, lemon juice and water.
Using small metal spatula, spread glaze over tops of cookies; sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
Let glaze dry before storing in airtight container.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Kitchen Secrets
If you don’t have a snowflake-shaped cookie cutter, you can use either a star-shaped or scalloped-edge cutter, and then cut small triangles and pieces out of the center to form snowflakes.
In large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.
On low speed, beat in egg, lemon peel and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until well blended.
Divide dough into 4 equal parts; flatten each part into ½-inch-thick round.
Wrap each in waxed paper or plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.
Heat oven to 350°F.
Remove 1 round of dough at a time from refrigerator.
Between sheets of floured waxed paper or plastic wrap, roll dough until ¼ to ⅜ inch thick.
Cut with 3-inch cookie cutters in various shapes.
On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts 1 inch apart.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or just until edges are golden.
Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
To make cookies for hanging, use toothpick or end of plastic straw to carefully poke a hole in the top of each cookie while cookies are still hot.
Cool 10 to 15 minutes before frosting.
In medium bowl, stir together powdered sugar and meringue powder.
Stir in 5 teaspoons lemon juice and enough of the 4 to 5 tablespoons water to make a thin icing.
Transfer ½ cup of the icing to small bowl; set aside.
Using a flexible pastry brush, paint cookies to the edges with icing.
Place on cooling rack to dry completely, about 30 minutes.
Beat reserved icing with electric mixer on high speed 5 to 7 minutes or until peaks form.
Spoon into decorating bag or resealable bag with one corner cut off; pipe designs onto glazed cookies.
Before icing dries, sprinkle with decorations, and tap off excess.
Dry thoroughly on cooling rack.
Thread cookies with narrow ribbon for hanging.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Make-Ahead Magic
These cookies store well. Once frostings are set (including the decorations), place cookies between layers of cooking parchment or waxed paper, plastic wrap or foil, and freeze up to 2 months.
Colored sugarscandy sprinkles and nonpareils, if desired
FROSTING
2cupspowdered sugar
½teaspoonvanilla
2tablespoonsmilk or half-and-half
Food colorsif desired
1Inlarge bowlmix 1½ cu
Instructies
In large bowl, mix 1½ cups powdered sugar, the butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the almond extract and egg until well blended.
Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar.
Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
Heat oven to 375°F.
Divide dough in half.
On lightly floured, cloth-covered surface, roll each half of dough to ¼ inch thick.
Cut into assorted shapes with cookie cutters, or cut around patterns traced from storybook illustrations.
If cookies are to be hung as decorations, use the end of a plastic straw to make a hole in each one ¼ inch from top edge.
Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until light brown.
Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.
Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
In medium bowl, beat frosting ingredients until smooth and spreadable.
Tint with food color.
Frost and decorate cookies as desired with frosting and colored sugars.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Make-Ahead Magic
These cookies can be made ahead and frozen until you need them. Let the frosting dry before storing. Place cookies in a freezer-storage container, with waxed paper between layers. Freeze up to 3 months. Remove cookies from container to thaw.
Kitchen Secrets
For melt-in-your-mouth treats, be sure to mix cookies just enough—but not too much. Too much mixing can result in tough cookies.
In large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy.
On low speed, gradually beat in flour.
On large piece of plastic wrap, form dough into 10×5-inch rectangle.
Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, stir together dates, ½ cup water and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
Heat to boiling.
Reduce heat to low; cook 5 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Cool 5 minutes.
Stir in orange peel, vanilla and walnuts; set aside.
Heat oven to 325°F.
Line 2 cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper.
Cut dough in half into 2 squares.
On floured surface, roll 1 square of dough into 10-inch square.
Using fluted pastry wheel, cut into 5 rows by 5 rows to create 25 (2-inch) squares.
Spoon 1 teaspoon date mixture onto center of each 2-inch square.
Bring 2 opposite corners of dough together, partially overlapping and covering date mixture.
Using fingers dipped in water, press dough to seal.
On cookie sheets, place dough wraps 1 inch apart.
Repeat with other half of dough and remaining date mixture.
In small bowl, beat egg white and 1 tablespoon water; brush onto dough wraps.
Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until edges begin to turn light golden brown.
Cool 2 to 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Festive Touch
A plate of these cookies wrapped in cellophane and a bow would make a wonderful hostess or thank-you gift. You could put them on a decorative paper plate or purchase a special plate at the store or a thrift shop.
2containers1 lb each creamy white or vanilla creamy ready-to-spread frosting
Instructies
In medium bowl, stir together cookie mix, butter, flour and egg until soft dough forms.
On floured surface, roll dough until about ⅛ inch thick.
Cut with 3- to 3½-inch cookie cutters.
On cookie sheets, place cutouts 1 inch apart.
Bake 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, break off top of each candy cane to create hanging loop.
Remove cookies from oven; press 1 candy piece on top of each cookie.
Bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or until edges are set.
Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
Into shallow medium microwavable bowl, spoon 1 container of frosting.
Microwave uncovered on High 45 to 60 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted.
Dip each cookie in frosting, allowing excess to drip off.
Place on parchment paper.
Repeat with second container of frosting and remaining cookies.
Let stand until frosting is set, about 1 hour.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Festive Touch
Get creative! Decorate your cookie ornaments with colored or coarse sugar, small candies or sprinkles. Tie a piece of ribbon through each candy cane loop for hanging.
Kitchen Secrets
To evenly break candy canes, cut with scissors while still in the wrapper, then unwrap and use.
Various shades of green gel and/or liquid food color
Assorted green and white candy sprinkles and green edible glitter
Instructies
Heat oven to 350°F.
Make cookie mix as directed on pouch for cutout cookies, using butter, egg and flour.
On lightly floured work surface, roll dough until ¼ inch thick.
Use various sizes tree-shaped cutters to cut trees from dough, rerolling as necessary.
On ungreased cookie sheet, place cookies 2 inches apart.
Press lollipop stick into center of each cookie.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set and cookies are light golden brown.
Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.
Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
Divide frosting among 3 or 4 bowls; color with assorted shades of green food color.
Frost cookies; decorate as desired.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Festive Touch
Wrap individual pops in cellophane wrap or small cellophane bags. Tighten the cellophane around the sticks with rubber bands and cover the bands with pieces of ribbon.Cookie pop “roses”? Treat these pops like roses, and you’ll have a great way to give them as gifts! Either place them in tissue in a box (wrapping the sticks with ribbon), or arrange them in a vase.
