Christmas Cookies

Makes 2 dozen cookies

• 1 package (17.5 ounces) sugar cookie mix

• 1 tablespoon flour

• 1⁄3 cup butter, at room temperature

• 1 egg

• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• 4 teaspoons light corn syrup

• 2 to 3 tablespoons milk

• White decorating sugar Cookie ball ornaments, recipe follows

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine cookie mix, four, butter, egg, and vanilla. Press together with your fingers until a soft dough forms. Form into a disk.
3. Roll out dough on floured surface to 1⁄4-inch thickness. Cut out cookies and arrange on cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are golden. Let cool.
4. In a bowl, stir together powdered sugar, corn syrup, and 1 tablespoon milk, a few drops at a time, until icing is smooth but thick enough to pipe. Transfer half of icing to a zip-top bag and set aside. Stir a few drops of milk into remaining icing to thin.
5. Spread thin layer of icing on cookies. Allow icing to set until dry to the touch.
6. Snip a tiny hole in corner of zip-top and pipe a border around trees. Sprinkle decorating sugar on icing and tap of excess. Dab trees with icing and press on cookie ball ornaments.

Tasty Trimming
To turn your rolled cookies into ornaments, use a straw to cut a small hole at the top before baking. (While cookies are still hot, gently enlarge the hole if necessary, as shapes may spread slightly during baking.) To make ball ornaments for decorating the cookies, bake scraps of cookie dough and allow to cool. Crush in a zip-top bag to make fine crumbs. In a bowl, combine crumbs with enough icing so that you can roll into tiny balls. Dip balls in more icing, then red and green sugar.