Brenda Byers, owner of Great Stitch and sponsor of last weeks awesome pajama set giveaway has the some of the most heartfelt holiday traditions.  Last year we featured her Christmas Eve movie night tradition (and the basis of what’s become our annual holiday pajama giveaway)!  Here is another great tradition of Brenda and her families that helps to make Thanksgiving last longer than the turkey and makes the start of the holiday season official!

“As long as there are children who believe, there will always be magic at Christmas. Even something as simple as the classic sugar cookie can become the stuff of dreams…and memories. And aren’t memories the reason we do all this?  Our personal traditions of Christmas start Thanksgiving night. We love to celebrate Thanksgiving and want to squeeze every moment out of it we can. So we always hold off Christmas until that night. Everyone is always so stuffed with turkey that we don’t need another meal. So we came up with the idea a long time ago to make sugar cookies to kick off Christmas. I have been making this recipe as long as I can remember. I was 8 when I first used it myself. It is a yummy, easy to make cookie that makes a large batch, perfect for the holidays!”

Here is the Sugar Cookie Recipe we use:

1c. butter
1c. oil
2 eggs
1T vanilla
Cream above ingredients until light and fluffy.

Sift together:
5c flour
1t salt
1 t soda
1t. cream of tartar

Roll in balls and flatten with a pretty glass dipped in any color of sugar. We use a simple crystal glass to make the cookies. Once dipped in any color of sugar, it becomes a magical snowflake design. it is a family tradition to make these this way for Christmas and a delightfully easy way to make lovely cookies. This is a chunky, crispy easy cookie to make and it makes enough to last the entire Christmas season. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

This is a large recipe, freezes well, and is crunchy. It lends itself well to gluten free, just trade regular flour for gluten free and add 1t of xantham gum per cup of flour. (5 total for this recipe).