Sugar Christmas Cookies - Crisp and Delicate
·Whip the butter
Beat the softened butter together with the sugar using a hand mixer until fluffy, about five minutes. Then add the egg and keep beating until you get a beautifully light, airy butter foam. Right at the end, stir in the vanilla extract.
Mix the dry ingredients
In another bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking soda. Combine this mixture with the butter cream.
Make the fluffy dough
The resulting dough will be light and fluffy. It may feel slightly sticky on your hands - if so, add a little flour, but not too much! Shape it into a ball, place it in a bowl and chill in the fridge for about an hour.
Roll out and cut the shapes
On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into a sheet about 1 cm thick. Cut out stars or flower shapes, ready for decorating with a snowflake pattern if you like.
Chill again
Arrange the cut-out shapes on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and pop them back into the fridge for 15 minutes. Don't skip this step! It stops the cut shapes from spreading and losing their crisp outline.
Bake
Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for about 8 to 10 minutes. If you already know you won't be decorating them with egg-white icing, you can sprinkle the shapes with granulated sugar at this point.
Icing
Whisk together egg whites, sugar and lemon juice. If the icing seems too thick, just add a little more lemon juice or a splash of water to thin it out. Use this icing to decorate the cooled, baked cookies.
Tip: colours
For colourful cookies, divide the icing into several portions and tint each lightly with food colouring. Soft pastel shades suit these cookies best, so go easy - just a tiny touch of colour is enough.