we’re counting down to christmas and we’re in the single digits!!…annnnd i’m a big mixture between ecstatic and beyond stressed + emotional! this time of year always sneaks up on me and here we are. i don’t have a single present wrapped, we have a million events/parties planned and i still have a handful of gifts to buy on my list.
if i’m not careful, i can let the chaos take over and i forget to stop and enjoy the moment. these days are all too fleeting and when i put my own agenda above the kids, i often lie in bed at night and hate that i didn’t spend more time enjoying the little things with them..those little moments of legos, an extra kiss, or singing another round of rudolg. it always gets me when i stop and think that tomorrow they’ll be another day older and i often have to remind myself to find that balance. this season is so magical. there’s so much wonder + light in their eyes and seeing them just be little brings it all back to reality.
we’ve had a lot going on lately and when i had the chance to just bake cookies with the kids… my mama heart was full.
i know i make life far more complicated than it should be sometimes and today we’re going back to the basics… sugar cookies for santa!

what’s even more special is that this easy handed-down christmas cookie recipe is my grandma’s that we used to bake with her when i was little. i can’t believe i’m now baking them with my own little girls and filling our tummies with way too much cookie dough + icing.

esther’s sugar cookie recipe

3/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2.5 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder

preheat oven to 400.
beat butter, sugar + vanilla until light and fluffy. add eggs one at a time, beating after each egg. mix flour, salt + baking powder together then slowly combine wet + dry ingredients until just mixed.
wrap + refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours {or overnight!} – side note, i split my dough in half and roll/cut half a batch at a time so the dough stays cold.
** i always use powdered sugar rather than flour on the counter top surface + on rolling pin to avoid the dough from sticking..the dough doesn’t get as dry. **
bake cookies for 6 minutes or until edges are just barely browned. let cool {or stick outside for a couple minutes!} before frosting!

a couple of notes while you’re baking this year…

if you’re baking with littles, i have found it SO much easier to prep and pre-measure everything into little containers so that when it comes time to throw everything together, you can do just that…and little hands can help! we’ve made about 10 batches of these cookies and i started to just pre-measure everything out..and mixed together the dry ingredients! totally alleviates some of the chaos.
don’t worry about the mess. if you are baking with littles, it will be messy. accidents happen and the best thing that happened during this batch was that i accidentally spilled the powdered sugar on piper and it turned out to be one of the silliest moments with powdered sugar on everyone’s faces. try to roll with it. it’ll make the experience that much more fun.
dress for the occasion…aka the mess. y’all know my love for pinkblush and you better believe it’s my go-to even for some comfy cute loungewear. this dolman top has gotten some really good use because it’s so easy to throw on over leggings or jeans + booties.  and even is loose-fitting which is perfect for those days where i’ve eaten my weight in sugar cookies!

these sprinkle-covered-10lbs of icing-cookies will be finding themselves on santa’s little plate christmas eve night and the girls couldn’t be more excited!

merry christmas, my sweet girls.

the biggest thank you to  ivory lamb photography for capturing these special memories with my girls baking cookies..i will cherish these forever!