Baking Christmas Cookies with little g

Making Christmas cookies is so much more fun when you have a little helper. Little g and I made gingerbread and sugar cookies together this year. She helped spread the flour around on the table, cut out the cookies, and of course sample the finished product! It was fun to watch her try to use the cookie cutters. She definitely had the right idea, and ended up with some interesting shapes. So we have quite a few abstract cookies this year, and they're all delicious!

I adapted a sugar cookie recipe I had to be egg-free and dairy-free, since there are little ones with allergies in the family. I know it can be hard to find good egg-free dairy-free recipes, so I'll share mine:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. In large mixing bowl, beat coconut oil until soft. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add applesauce and vanilla; beat well. Add flour mixture and beat until well mixed. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

2. Roll dough 1/8" thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes or until done. Cool on wire rack.

3. Decorate if desired, or eat them immediately! Yum!!


I found that the coconut oil worked pretty well, since it is solid when cool. You could probably also use shortening instead of the coconut oil, but we didn't have any on hand. Another tip: if you let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a minute or two after you take them out of the oven, they're much easier to take off.