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.