During the 12 days until Christmas break, the King Street Chronicle again presents staff favorites from the holiday season. This eighth edition will not include eight maids a-milking, but beloved Christmas songs, memories, recipes, movies, and crafts.
Song: “Silent Night” performed by Ms. Kelly Clarkson
Recipe: Sugar Cookie Trees.
Total Time: One hour and 40 minutes
Quantity: 22
Ingredients:
Sugar Cookies:
- One cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- Three-fourths cup granulated sugar
- One-half cup light brown sugar
- One large egg (at room temperature)
- One tablespoon vanilla extract
- Three cups all purpose flour
- Three-fourths teaspoon baking soda
- Three-fourths teaspoon baking powder
- One-half teaspoon of fine sea salt
- Sanding or sparkling sugar as needed for finishing
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Eight ounces of cream cheese (at room temperature)
- One-half cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- Four cups powdered sugar
- One and one-half teaspoons vanilla extract
- One-half teaspoon fine sea salt
- One-fourth cup sour cream (at room temperature)
- Sprinkles
- Five drops of green food coloring or more as needed (optional)
Steps:
- Line four baking sheets with parchment paper
- Combine butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream until light and fluffy (about four to five minutes). Add egg and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients well.
- Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix on low speed until combined. Scrape the bowl well, then mix on low speed again until a smooth, homogeneous dough forms.
- Pour sanding or sparkling sugar in a shallow bowl. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
- To create the trees the cookies need to be in three different sizes. Portion out 22 scoops of dough in each of the following sizes: one teaspoon, two teaspoons, and one tablespoon and set on the prepared baking sheets. Keep the same size dough portions together on the same baking sheet and divide the one tablespoon cookie dough portions amongst two baking sheets.
- Roll each dough portion into a ball, then roll dough balls through the sanding or sparkling sugar to generously coat. Return cookies to the baking sheets, spacing them at least one inch apart.
- Working in batches, transfer baking sheets to the preheated oven. Bake until cookies are lightly golden brown at the very edge, five to seven minutes for the smallest cookies, six to eight minutes for medium-sized cookies, and seven to nine minutes for the largest ones. Carefully transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely.
- Combine cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream until light and fluffy, for about three minutes. Scrape the bowl well, then add powdered sugar in three to four additions, mixing well and scraping the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla, salt, and sour cream and mix on medium speed to combine. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl well, then mix again on medium speed to make sure everything is evenly combined. Add food coloring and mix until frosting color is even. Add more green food coloring for a deeper color.
- Fit a pastry bag with a medium star tip or medium round tip. Transfer some of the frosting to the pastry bag, aiming to fill it no more than halfway full.
- To assemble the cookie stacks, place the largest cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Hold the pastry bag directly over each cookie and pipe on enough frosting to cover the surface of the cookie, leaving about one-half inch uncovered around the outer edge. Repeat with all of the largest cookies. Place a medium cookie on top of each frosted large cookie and press down slightly (the frosting should now come just barely to the outer edge).
- Frost medium sized cookies the same way you frosted the large cookies, leaving about one-half inch uncovered around the outer edges. Set a small cookie on top of each cookie stack, pressing down lightly to spread the frosting just barely to the outer edges.
- Pipe a tall swirl of frosting on top of each cookie stack to create the top of the “tree.” Decorate the exposed frosting with sprinkles and more sparkling sugar.
- Store in an airtight container until ready to serve (the stacks taste best within five days of assembling).
Movie: The Princess Switch
“One week before Christmas, Margaret, the gorgeous Duchess of Montenaro, switches places with Stacy, a Chicago “commoner” who looks exactly like her. With the assistance of a magical Santa’s helper, Margaret falls in love with Stacy’s handsome co-worker, while Stacy falls in love with Margaret’s fiancé, the dashing Prince,” courtesy of imdb.com.
Craft: Felt Reindeer Candy Cane Cozies
Supplies:
- Acrylic craft felt
- Scissors
- Glue
- Freezer paper
- Spray adhesive
- Printable patterns
- Embroidery floss
- Candy cane
Steps:
- Cut out felt into two reindeer shapes using scissors.
- Stitch nose and eyes onto one of the felt pieces, using appropriately matching embroidery floss. For the eyes, create an asterisk, or starburst by crossing three stitches over one another in the center of your round felt circles.
- Leaving an opening of a little over half an inch at the top of the head and the chin of the reindeer to insert the candy canes, place the two face pieces and blanket stitch around the outer edge.
- Cut a rectangle out of felt and fold it in half. In the center, stitch the floss into a continuous loop with one or two small stitches.
- Pull the floss nice and tight to gather the felt into a bow shape. Wrap the floss around and around the center to hold the bow shape in place. Using glue or the needle and thread, tack the smaller rectangle to cover the center, trimming the rectangle as needed.
- Attach the bow through the neck or ear area of a pieced together reindeer to finish each one up.
- Push two candy canes in through the center of the reindeer’s felt face and turn them to face outward on each side.
Memory: Mr. Colby Verge
“Every year, we have the joy of taking our children on the Polar Express in Essex, CT, and it truly is a magical experience. Watching their eyes light up with excitement, singing Christmas carols together, and meeting Santa is a tradition that fills our hearts with warmth. The joy and anticipation they feel as Christmas approaches is a reminder of how special this holiday is for our family. Christmas holds a special place in our hearts, and it wouldn’t be the same without these cherished moments.”
Featured Image by Eloise Liggitt ’26
