Nana Chadburn’s Coconut Sugar Santa Cookies

Yield:

Instructions

Sift flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, coconut, and lemon extract. Add dry ingredients and mix well. (I always use extra-large eggs and add up to a cup more of flour. I think the eggs my grandmother used must have been smaller.) Chill dough for 1 hour (can be chilled overnight). Roll out thin. Glue or transfer a Santa pattern to a piece of cardboard, then cut out. Lay cardboard pattern on rolled-out cookie dough and cut around it with a sharp knife. Place the cut-out cookies on cookie sheet, Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies just begin to brown.

To Decorate Santas: Make the beard by spreading the buttercream frosting (recipe below) on the lower half of the cookie and sprinkling it with coconut. Pipe the mustache and hat decorations with a cake decorating tip. Mix 1 egg white with 2 tablespoons of water and several drops of red food coloring. Spread the hat area with the colored egg white and sprinkle red-colored sugar over it. Using a clean paint brush, give Santa rosy cheeks and a mouth with the remaining egg-white mixture. Color a small amount of buttercream frosting for the eyes. I always use blue, but they could be any color. Use a small decorating tube and find an eye shape that pleases you. I like to do the eyes last because they seem to bring the cookie to life.

Instructions

Cream butter. Add remaining ingredients. Add enough milk so frosting can be easily spread, but with still hold its shape when piped.