Hanukkah or Any Holiday Sugar Cookies with All Natural Colored Sugar

Since it is a custom to eat fried food on Hanukkah, over the 8 days of the holiday your kids will be fed what seems like dozens of commercially made jelly doughnuts with all sorts of artificial flavors and colorings in them. I try very hard  not to think about this too much!

We will be having a small family get together over Hanukkah and I will not be serving any jelly doughnuts. Since I don't want to be a complete killjoy I will be serving potato latkes with applesauce and these buttery sugar cookies that the girls and I made last night with Joby & Marty's Amazing, All Natural Colored Sugar (I found it at Whole Foods).  I had a vision of cookies with only blue colored sugar on them for Hanukkah on them but as you can see the girls had other ideas! These cookie can be frozen for at least a month so you can make these ahead of time.

Ingredients:

3/4 cups of sweet butter at room temperature

2 large eggs plus 1egg for glazing

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 cups plus 1/2 cup of flour and a little extra flour for rolling the dough out

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Parchment paper to line the cookie sheets with

1. Combine the 2 cups of flour, salt and baking powder and put aside.

2. Cream the butter with a hand mixer and then add the sugar. Cream the butter and sugar together until it is well combined.

3. Add the first egg and beat for a minute or so. Then add the second egg and the vanilla extract and beat until well combined.

4. Add the flour mixture while mixing on low until you can no longer use the mixer. Add any of the remaining flour mixture with a spoon (or your hands!). The dough should be a little sticky but if it seems too sticky add the other half cup of flour a little bit at a time.

5. Refrigerate the dough overnight.

6. When you take the dough out of the fridge the next day let it sit for about 5 minutes .

7. While the dough is sitting pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

8. Sprinkle some flour on the dough and roll out the dough on a floured surface. It will still be cold and it will take some adult body weight to roll it but the cookies will retain their shape much better and will be much easier to work with if the dough is cold.

8. Cut out the cookies with a cookie cutter and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. 

9. Glaze the cookies lightly with the beaten egg and sprinkle the colored sugar on them.

10. Since you will need to bake a few batches you should put any cookie dough that is waiting to be cut in the fridge or freezer depending on how soft it has gotten and how soon you will be using it.

11. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.