Christmas Cookies with Cassie - Optional White Chocolate Chai version

all ingredients at room temperature

cream butter and sugar well

pat into a rough circle, wrap and chill

time for the fun part, cutting into shapes

decorate/ice as desired

Pyrex Mixing Bowls        Parchment Paper             KitchenAid Stand Mixer              Baking Sheets

Christmas Cookies with Cassie @theImperfectBaker -
White Chocolate Chai Variation

(original sugar cookie recipe courtesy of Williams Sonoma)

2 1/2 cups (390 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chai spice blend-see below ( for optional white chocolate chai version of these classic cookies)
12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks/185 g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup (250 g) sugar. I love naturalcane sugar.
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. I use vanilla paste
All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Over a medium bowl sift together flour and salt.  Set aside. (This is where I added 1 teaspoon of my chai spice blend for my white chocolate chai version)

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a flat beater, beat butter on high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes., stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add egg and vanilla and beat for 1 minute, again stopping to scrape down the sides.

Stop the mixer and add half of the flour mixture.  Beat on low speed until most of the flour has been absorbed, about 1 minute.  Add the remaining flour and continue beating until all of the flour has been absorbed and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 2-3 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 2 equal balls.  Shape each into a disk and wrap separately in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes.  
On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick.

Preheat over to 350 and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cut out desired shapes. You may need to dip the cutters in flour if the dough sticks to them.  Carefully transfer the cookies to a baking sheet, placing about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies, until they’re golden around the edges.  If you bake more than one sheet at a time, rotate their place in your oven about half way through the baking so that bake as evenly as possible.

Let sit for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
Decorate as desired
​
(I melted a cup of white chocolate chips in the microwave along with 1 teaspoon of chai spice to drizzle over my chai spiced sugar cookies to make my white chocolate chai version.)

A delicate dusting of edible gold glitter tops it off.

Chai Spice Blend-Mix all well together
2 T cinnamon
2T cardamon
1 T ground clove
1/2 T ground ginger
1 t pepper