One of my favorite holiday season traditions has to be cookie baking… and any other festive holiday baking that comes with that… fudge, reindeer balls, rice krispie treats, etc… (and to be clear, my mom does the majority of the heavy lifting and we get the fun part… decorating…). And as the girls are getting older, they’ve joined in on the fun as well.

Like I mentioned in Monday’s post, we were finally able to participate in this season’s day of baking after having illnesses the past two years. And first on the list is always our favorite sugar cookies, that we’ve been making since I was Harper’s age. They’re soft, fluffy, and the quintessential Christmas sugar cookie. I first shared this recipe on the blog 8-9 years ago, but figured it needed a bit of a refresh after all this time, so sharing it again below.

I do want to note that this is not gluten or dairy free… but I have had several people tell me that they easily substituted regular flour for 1:1 gluten free flour and that the recipe was great. I will have to give that a try the next time we make these.

I hope everyone has a great day ahead, and happy baking!
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INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, softened 
1 1/2 cups sugar 
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk 
1 tsp baking soda 
1 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp salt 
1 1/2 tsp vanilla 
4 cups flour 

Ingredients Frosting: 
1/2 cup butter (softened)
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla 
2 tsp milk 

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKIES

Stir flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl
Cream sugar and butter together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth
Beat in buttermilk 
Beat in eggs and vanilla
Gradually blend in flour mixture.
Chill dough in refrigerator for 1-2 hours before rolling to 1/4-1/2 inch thick 
(**NOTE** this dough is *very* sticky, you will want to roll it out on flour and also dust the rolling pin in flour- it won’t dry out the dough or make the cookies tough) 
Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes (depending on your oven- or until they start to brown lightly)
Cool on the baking sheets briefly before removing to a wire rack to cool completely

DIRECTIONS FOR FROSTING

Cream butter and sugar together, then beat in the milk and vanilla until smooth 
Decorate however you prefer! We used piping to trace around the edges, and then filled it all in with frosting and sprinkles!