Name: Santa's coat buttons Recipe
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Makes about 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients: 2 cups (9.5 ounces) flour; 2/3 cup powdered sugar; 1/2 teaspoons salt; 1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at room temperature; 1/4 cup red decorating sugar; 1 teaspoon white decorating sugar

Print RecipePrint Recipe

By Noelle Carter

Dec. 15, 2012

Beyond the colorful decorations and after the initial rush of sugar, holiday cookies are about memories and tradition. Be they humble or ornate, our baked goods are used to celebrate and give thanks -- thanks for our childhoods, the blessings of family and friends and the magic that can be found only this time of year.

This fall, we asked L.A. Times readers to share their special cookie recipes with us for our third annual Holiday Cookie Bake-Off and then to help us narrow down their favorites to the top 50.

We received close to 200 submissions, and more than 2,500 votes were cast. We took the top vote-getters to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena, where students spent one Saturday morning baking batches of cookies.

Just over a week ago, the L.A. Times Test Kitchen was jammed with happy bakers and their helpers for this year’s photo shoot. Amazing cookies, memories and traditions were shared.

Celebrating memories, cookies remind us of home. Or remind those close to us of home. One winner made cookies to share with a friend from Sweden. When he tasted the ginger-spiced cookies, the friend remarked, “This is my taste of Christmas.”

Read More Read Less

2 cups (9.5 ounces) flour

⅔ cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoons salt

1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, at room temperature

¼ cup red decorating sugar

1 teaspoon white decorating sugar

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, powdered sugar and salt. Add the butter, pulsing until the dough comes together.

Remove the dough and divide in half. Shape each half into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, rolling in waxed paper. Chill the dough until firm enough to slice, at least 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Pour the red sugar into a small bowl or baking dish to a thickness of about one-half inch.

Cut each dough log into one-half-inch rounds. Press each round lightly onto the sugar to coat, then place, sugar side up, onto the parchment-lined baking sheet 1 to 2 inches apart. Sprinkle a few white crystals on top of each cookie for added sparkle. Use the blunt end of a skewer or similar item to make 2 indentations for “buttonholes.”

Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, then reverse the sheets and continue to bake until the cookies are golden on the bottom (no coloring on top), 8 to 12 minutes longer. Cool on racks.

Adapted from Joan Kay GeorgeHerzberg.

Red and white decorating sugars can be found at most well-stocked markets, as well as cooking and baking supply stores.