Try a delicious and very simple scratch made cookie even toddlers can help make

I love to bake during the holidays.  Some of my favorite cookies are more difficult to make.  But what if I want to bake with kids....small kids?  I have the perfect recipe for that. 

Kids always seem to love making cutout cookies, but with all the fabulous cookies I make, I do not enjoy making cutouts.  So in my hunt to find something that tasted like a sugar cookie but did not require that I spend hours rolling, cutting and worst off, decorating them, I found a recipe for No Roll Sugar Cookies.  The original recipe was different and still required a little patience to complete.  I do not remember the original source of the recipe, but we made several changes to it anyway.

The recipe is simple and uses ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.  You can use sprinkles, colored sugar or leave them plain.  You can also color the dough with food coloring if you like. 

To show you how easy these are to make, my friend Tram Mai who is on Channel 12 in Phoenix prepared these cookies with her twins. 

There are a few hints that will make these cookies successful.  First, you can use the heel of your hand to press the cookies from a ball into a disc.  Be sure to press hard enough so they are about 1/4 to 1/2" thick.  Not pressing them hard enough will make the cookies very thick and may not bake as nicely.  If 'little hands' are doing this, you may want to assist with the pressing to make sure they are not too thick.  Second, and I learned this from my friend, Tram, it works really well to use sprinkles that are in a shaker top.  It certainly creates less mess.

This picture was taken for a TV segment with Tram and her adorable twins Zak and Zoey actually making the cookies.  They are about 2 1/2.  I told you they are easy...and tasty too.

Here's the recipe.  They are delicious and will be wonderful on your cookie platter.  One other plus; we are at 5700 feet altitude and no adjustments are needed for these.

No Roll Sugar Cookies 

Prep time 30 minutes;

Bake time 10 minutes

Makes 42 cookies 

• 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup powdered 10x sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup sprinkles (jimmies) or colored sugar 

Heat oven to 375°. 

Beat butter, margarine and both sugars in a large bowl until fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla until well blended.  Beat remaining ingredients in with mixer on low until just blended.  Do not overmix. 

Roll tablespoons of dough into 1 inch balls.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.   

The easiest way I found to shape these is to press the balls with the palm of your hand, then put sprinkles on the cookies, lightly pressing sprinkles into the dough.   

 You can also put plastic on the cookie ball and press with a glass, then spread sprinkles on top. 

Bake about 10 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden.  Cool on a wire rack.