Family Traditions : Holiday Cookie Baking for the Baking-Challenged
There are people out there who can bake a dozen flawless recipes without even glancing at a cookbook. This post is for the rest of us. The burners, the overmixers, the “wait… confectioners’ sugar isn’t just regular sugar?” crowd (hi, it’s me), and the people who fully support cookies from a tube or a box. Zero judgment here.
I’ve never been much of a baker, and honestly, I wasn’t trying to be. After the infamous “confectioner’s sugar incident” during our annual baking day with my BFF and her mother-in-law, I was happily relegated to decoration duty for a couple of years. Plus, my sister is an incredible baker, so I’ve always figured the world didn’t need my contributions.
But for the past several years, our son has asked me to bake holiday cookies with him a la The Sweet Smell of Christmas. (Tell me you remember it! It was my favorite as a kid, and now it’s his too.)
Year one… whew. Our gingerbread men were a disaster. I mis-measured the butter (like, by a lot) and didn’t realize the dough needed to chill before cutting them out. Meltdowns from both of us ensued. The next year was a redemption round and a much-needed win. Then, just when I thought I had it down, Alex requested sugar cookies instead.
If you’re anything like me, that brought equal parts excitement (yay, he still wants to bake together!) and dread (because “easy” recipe is a lie I fall for every time). But excitement won, so off to Pinterest I went. After scrolling past recipes that were clearly meant for Martha Stewart, included ingredients I had to Google, or required kitchen tools I hope to never, ever own, I finally struck gold. We made “The Perfect Sugar Cookie” plus “The Best Sugar Cookie” buttercream frosting from Cooking with Karli. I don’t know Karli, but I owe her. Truly. Her recipes are foolproof and delicious — you can check them out here and here.
The end result? Not Pinterest-perfect, but honestly, who cares? They tasted like pure joy. And if perfection isn’t on your holiday menu either, remember it’s all about the time spent together — flour on noses, giggles in the kitchen, and that magical holiday smell drifting through the house.
So grab your kids, your apron, and your water-bottle-turned-rolling-pin (just me?!) and embrace the sprinkle explosions. These are the real happy hours they’ll remember forever.
Ready to start baking?
Grab one of our NEW Holiday Baking Gift Sets packed with everything little helpers need to whip up merry treats — and make the sweetest holiday memories along the way.
