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Whether you’re attending your office potluck, serving your work mates, friends or family or getting together to watch the hockey game, these Christmas Sugar Cookies are easy to make and are sure to please.

The Ingredients

(Makes about 16 large cookies)

Flavour Tip: The taste is all in the eggs. Instead of factory farm white eggs I used fresh pasture free run heritage chicken eggs from my friend’s organic farm. You can also try duck eggs.

The Work

• In a large bowl, sift flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. (Mix them all together using your clean hands)

• In a bowl use an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy. (If you don’t have an electric mixer you can buy a hand powered mixer from a dollar store or kitchen store.)

• Beat in eggs and vanilla

• Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined.

• Divide dough in 2 and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.

• Preheat oven to 325 F.

• Have ready several baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Remove dough from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature to temper slightly. (Note: This prevents dough from cracking.) (You can also use disposable baking sheets sold in supermarkets.)

• Place parchment on a clean surface; dust generously with flour. Be careful, as too much added flour can toughen the cookie.

• Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness, stopping often to release the dough by running an offset spatula under it.

• Dust with flour as necessary to prevent dough from sticking. Transfer parchment and dough to freezer until very firm about 15 minutes.

• Remove dough from freezer; working quickly, cut into desired shapes. If your dough begins to soften, return to freezer for a few minutes. Using a wide spatula, transfer to baking sheets; freeze or refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

• Bake 15-18 minutes, or until edges just begin to brown, rotating halfway through. Cool on wire racks; decorate.

(Note: Chill scraps, and re-roll dough only once or your cookies could toughen.)

The Fixin’s

Drizzle or pipe icing or melted dark or white chocolate on to the cookies and then sprinkle with crushed candy canes. (Google “cookie icing” for more ideas.)

Adapted by: / Ingredients graphic by: John Zeus
Recipe sourced from Executive Chef John Robertson at The Big Carrot Natural Food Market Cookie images from The Big Carrot

Morning Sustainability…

Greek Yogurt or Goat’s Milk Yogurt, ensure it’s plain, topped with fresh berries, unpasteurized local honey, organic local walnuts and/or granola. So healthy with the added benefits of protein and active probiotic cultures. Plain Greek yogurt is available almost everywhere now.

Greek Yogurt with Berries, Local Walnuts and Unpasteurized Honey!

I’m one of those guys who would eat a full breakfast daily and still feel low energy during morning meetings and workouts. Maybe it was what I was eating? My breakfasts varied from cereals to breakfast sandwiches and muffins which food corporations advertised as “power breakfast”, “energy nutrition”, “sunshine in a meal”. It took a while for me to realize the food companies were lying. What I was really eating was sugar and gmo corn.

It’s unfortunate that most food corporations and fast food brands spend more money on advertising and marketing than food quality. Many breakfast cereals are made of chemicals, sugar and gmo corn, disguised to taste like good food. Fast food breakfast sandwiches are made from gmo soybeans and processed meats and cheeses from gmo corn-fed animals, how unhealthy.

I started to look beyond the marketing and more at the foods I was eating and asked myself; would I trust a corporation to make my food over an individual? The answer was no. I immediately thought of my Yiayia (grandmother) and the traditional breakfasts I ate in my teens. At that moment I craved homemade Trikala Greek Yogurt.

No Added Sugar!

Natural energy with no added sugar, my power breakfast for one, getting me through to lunch.

Serving: 1 • Time: 2 minutes

Medieval Fort at Trikala Thessaly, Greece

• 6 oz. plain Greek yogurt or Goat’s Milk Yogurt
• 1 tbsp honey (preferably local and unpasteurized)
• 1/2 cup fresh berries
• 1 tbsp (.25 oz) smashed local organic walnuts or local granola

Place yogurt in a dish, top with berries, walnuts and honey. Substituting walnuts with granola would taste great too.

A traditional recipe from Trikala

There’s nothing new about Greek Yogurt. In my early years I would spend some of my summer vacations in the old country visiting my Yiayia. Every morning I’d wake up to fresh Trikala Greek Yogurt as I would call it with fresh fruit, walnuts and honey. The true power breakfast of champions. ^

Source: John Zeus
Cover Photo Source: Web