Sand Tarts Cut-Out Christmas Cookies Recipe

Every year during the Christmas holiday season I make at least 6 different type’s of cookies and one variety that we make year after year are these classic, old-fashion Sand Tarts cookies. For 30 years I’ve been using my mother-in-law’s tried and true recipe. It’s a keeper!

Sand Tarts will take you 1-2 days to make. Time consuming, but your efforts will be rewarded with the most delicious cookies! After you mix up the cookie dough it will need to be refrigerated for at least 6 hours. I like to mix it up one evening and refrigerate overnight. If you want to do your baking all in one day, mix it up first thing in the morning, refrigerate for 6-8 hours and then start cutting them out & baking later that day.

Sand Tarts Cut-Out Christmas Cookies Recipe

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 medium eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon milk
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
egg white
extra flour for dusting the pastry board
non-stick baking spray

In a large mixing bowl sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt.

In another large mixing bowl cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar. Beat in the 2 medium eggs, vanilla extract and milk. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients until everything is combined. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.

Dust a pastry board with flour. If you don’t have one a tempered glass cutting board lightly dusted with flour works great too! Matter of fact, I prefer it because I can toss it into the dishwasher after I’m done.

Roll out the dough until thin. Use cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes. Place cut-outs on a lightly sprayed baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. I use silicone baking mats due to the non-stick and they help to keep cookies from getting too dark on the bottom.

Separate an egg and reserve just the egg white. Use a brush and lightly brush the egg white on top of each cookie. Decorate with sugars and sprinkles while the egg white is still wet.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the baking sheet into the oven for 4-8 minutes. The baking time will vary depending on the thickness of the cookies. Once done transfer to a cooling rack. Once cool, store in an airtime container.

Note: These cookies freeze well and will keep for 3-4 months in the freezer. Just thaw at room temperature.

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