Paintbrush Cookies

Our annual tradition of making Paintbrush Cookies for Christmas is something I have done with our kids ever since they were old enough to hold a paintbrush in their hands.  It was a tradition that my mother did with all of us every year too, and it has become the hallmark of our Christmas preparations.

This year, however, with both kids in college, and working long hours, I didn't know if it was something we were going to do.  Perhaps they had lost interest in such a thing, or perhaps we would just not all be able to gather together at the same time.

Last week at the dinner table, the discussion turned to Paintbrush cookies, and my son said, "Mom, when are we going to make the Paintbrush cookies?"  I was surprised to hear him ask me, because I really didn't think it was going to be possible this year with his busy work and school schedule.

Well, I was wrong!

Both kids unanimously wanted to make the cookies.  In fact, it was so important to my son to have this annual tradition that he invited his precious girlfriend to the party too!  I was thrilled.  I got busy making the dough for the cookies, and the party was on a couple days later.



As we gathered round the table, it was fun to pull out all of the cookie cutters from years gone by, the food coloring, the paintbrushes and get the cookie dough rolled out.



My son and his girlfriend were in charge of making the colors for the cookies.  That is always so fun, to see the beautiful colors created each year, some not so pretty (we've had black a few years, lol) but this year we ended up with a pretty purple, lol.



After I began to roll out the dough, my son wanted to take over that job.  He worried about all the dough rolling and how it would affect my hands (I suffer from carpal tunnel).  So I gladly surrendered the rolling pin to him, and he rolled out the rest of the cookies for us girls to paint.

I will provide the recipe for the cookies below.  It is a basic sugar cookie recipe, but the fun part comes in with the paintbrush coloring of the cookies!

Mixing the food coloring with the egg yolk is always so exciting, to see how the colors will turn out.

The nicest creations are always the first batch or two that we put in the oven.  After that, everyone gets tired, and we are just working to finish the creations, rather than make them masterpieces, lol!

The tradition of creating these sugar cookies goes beyond just the cookie ~ it is the fellowship that we all have together as we work to make them.  We share stories from years gone by, like remembering when my kids were little and someone ate their precious masterpiece, and they were heartbroken because they didn't get to eat it.  {smiles}

I brought out the sprinkles towards the end.  This helps to finish up the cookies a bit more quickly, and adds a fun touch to the cookies.

And of course, we sang Christmas carols and hymns together.  It was fun for all of us to harmonize together while painting our little masterpieces, and to sing with all our hearts songs that glorify and worship the Lord on the day of His birth.

Here is the recipe for these traditional Christmas cookies.  If you have young children, or older ones too, this is a great way to make some very special memories that will be treasured for years to come!

PAINTBRUSH COOKIES

3/4 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2-1/2 cups white flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 egg yolk

1/4 tsp water

Food coloring

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Blend in the flour, baking soda and salt.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.  

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  In small bowl, mix egg yolk well, and add water.  Using small custard bowls, divide mixture between them evenly.  Add a few drops of desired food coloring to each cup.  Place a clean paintbrush in each cup.  

Roll chilled dough out to 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface.  Cut with cookie cutters into desired shapes.  Place on ungreased baking sheet.  Paint designs on cookies.  Bake cookies for 6-8 minutes, or until light brown on edges.  Remove pan from oven and cool for one minute before removing to wire rack.  Makes 4 dozen.  (I usually double the recipe).