Nutmeg-Lemon Cutout Cookies

This is my mother's family's Christmas cookie recipe. My mother and I attribute this recipe to my grandma, though I am not sure if she came up with it, it was passed down to her from relatives or friends I never met, or found it somewhere, tried it out and loved it so much she just kept making it.

What distinguishes this recipe and what makes it so much more tasty and interesting than a simple sugar cookie is the sour cream, nutmeg, and lemon extract. The dough is soft but just firm enough after chilling to be rolled. They are initially somewhat crisp when they come out of the oven but soften after being frosted. They are not very sweet on their own, so they can take a bit of frosting and sprinkles without being overwhelmingly sweet.

The nostalgia I have for these cookies cannot be understated. This is what Christmas smells like to me. I have many happy memories of decorating these with my mom and siblings, and we even have home videos of this process from many different years. My favorite is the one where my 2-year-old sister was still up at midnight by herself with my mom, in a cycle of shaking the sprinkles onto the frosted cookies, shaking it too close and getting frosting on the sprinkle shaker top, and licking it off every time before continuing to sprinkle (lol ew). In another year, I wanted purple frosting (which was every year, let's be honest) and my mom mixed red and blue coloring but it turned a very gray purple instead, and we frosted circle shaped cookies with it, and my brothers called them "dirty snowballs" much to my dismay. The year I studied abroad in Japan, I couldn't go home for the holidays so my mom mailed me sprinkles (which are not widely available there) and I made these cookies for my host family.

You likely have your own family traditions, but if you decide to give these a try I really hope you like them. It's also worth mentioning that you don't have to wait for Christmas to make these! They're good anytime you want a frosted cutout cookie. My mom has been known to make these for Halloween too.

Notes:

• Be sure the dough is well chilled before you roll it and be generous with the flour when rolling because it tends to be pretty sticky.
• We had a set of Mirro cookie cutters in my house growing up (and I have some now too, because nostalgia). My mom went for simpler shapes without lots of skinny bits or points because she wanted to not have to worry about these bits warping or breaking, and wanted the cookies to bake evenly. This dough is able to handle being cut into more complicated shapes but you may have to be extra careful not to stretch or break them.
• If cutting more than one shape, try to bake shapes of similar sizes together.

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RECIPE:

Nutmeg-Lemon Cutout Cookies
from my grandma
makes about 4 dozen

Cookies:
1/2 cup Crisco or other shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp pure lemon extract
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Milk to thin to desired consistency (usually about 2-3 tsp)
Food coloring (optional)

Sprinkles, for decoration (optional)

Cream Crisco and sugar together in a mixing bowl until fluffy. Mix in egg, sour cream and lemon extract. Sift dry ingredients together and stir into Crisco mixture until well blended and a soft dough has formed. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour to chill.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°F. Roll chilled dough to ¼ inch thick on a well floured surface with a rolling pin, and cut into shapes with cookie cutters dipped in flour. Bake until edges just start to brown (about 7-8 minutes). Move cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. They may be frosted and decorated when completely cool.

To make frosting, beat all ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth. Tint with food coloring if desired, then spread about 1 tbsp of frosting on each cookie. Scatter sprinkles over the top for decoration before the frosting sets, if desired. Let stand on the cookie for about 30-45 minutes until frosting sets. Store at room temperature in an airtight container with parchment or wax paper between layers of cookies.