Star Sugar Cookies

I'm really excited that the holiday season has arrived. We celebrate Christmas, and I love putting up the tree, listening to Christmas music and, of course, holiday baking. For me, the Christmas season kicks off today, the day after US Thanksgiving.

I just love sugar cookies at any time of the year and am always looking for an excuse to use my cookie cutters. Last year I bought some Christmas-themed cookie cutters at a John Lewis store I stumbled upon on Sloane Square in London (and what a fortunate stumble it was -- it was a real pleasure to be able to shop without fear of being stampeded by fellow shoppers, unlike another London department store that shall remain nameless...).

(Nevermind the tea towels, though I love them just as much -- this was a picture that didn't make the cut for my Loot from London post)

I have to come clean here -- I actually made these last July smack dab in between the American Independance Day and France's Bastille Day. I was going for a patriotic red, white and blue theme but found that the result was more retro Noël instead -- kind of like something you'd expect to be served at a Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Christmas party.

I held onto the photos and figured I'd keep them in my back pocket for a later post. This ended up being a good idea because today I'll be bride and bridesmaid dress shopping with my recently engaged sister. So I guess it's best that I made the cookies a few months ago and am not currently chowing down on them.

I used the recipe for Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours. The cookies are topped with my go-to cookie frosting recipe: powdered sugar + a small amount of any liquid such as milk, water, etc. (this time I used lemon juice).

I really like this sugar cookie recipe -- though they were supposed to be crisp and buttery, the cookies turned out very soft and just sweet enough. As usual, I think this is due to the US recipe / French ingredient combination, which can sometimes be disastrous but this time actually worked out quite well.