Melt in Your Mouth Sugar Cookies

Last night, my mom hosted a wine exchange at our house. Yes, you heard it right, a WINE exchange. She invited some close friends and they played White Elephant with wine. It was such a fun spin on your traditional holiday party. I mean, who doesn't love wine?! I see this becoming an annual tradition. There were lots of laughs and it was so nice to enjoy everyone's company. After all, that's what the holidays are all about.

Now, having a wine exchange doesn't eliminate the need (yes, need) to have a cookie exchange party. It is merely the icing on the holiday exchange cake. Of course, every home needs to be filled with 12 dozen different types of cookies during the Christmas season. It's Christmas law, Santa told me.

Naturally, I made cookies for the wine exchange. Now, I didn't want to make anything too over the top,  because the wine was the star of the show last night. So, when I came across these Melt-In-Your-Mouth Sugar Cookies, I knew they'd be perfect. And boy, were they a hit! My cookie platter was wiped before the party even ended! That's a sure sign of a fabulous cookie.

When I was baking these goodies, I knew they'd be heavenly because the dough was so light and airy. I took a picture of said dough and this little cookie ball before baking and put them on Instagram. Don't they look divine?!

Real quick side note...have you followed me on Instagram (@tarheeltastebud) and Twitter (@TarHeelTB)?! If not, you should! You'll be surprised how much goes on outside this little blog.

Buuuttt, back to the dough. Goodness it was fluffy. I imagine it's what clouds are made of, but I'll get back to you on that. I chose to top some of these cookies with crushed candy canes and some with sprinkles. Both yielded fabulous results.

Once baked, the dough is still just as light and airy. The cookies really do melt in your mouth. They are sweet, but not too sweet, and they remind me of cookies I ate growing up. Simple, back to the basics sugar cookies that do not disappoint. So go ahead, whip up some of these, and enjoy (with a glass of vino)!

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Sugar Cookies
Recipe from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs
(makes about 5 dozen cookies)

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup oil (canola or vegetable oil)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• sprinkles, for decorating

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream together the butter, oil and sugars.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time. Then add the vanilla. Mix until nice and fluffy.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda.
5. Add the flour mix to the butter mix, and combine until fluffy.
6. Let the dough rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes or longer (mine sat overnight).
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
8. When ready to bake, drop the batter by the tablespoon onto the cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. At this point, I sprinkled on some of my sugar sprinkles. Depending on the type of sprinkles you choose to decorate with, you can sprinkle them on before or after you bake your cookies. I found that mine stuck better before (I tried just waiting till after and the results weren't as good!)
9. Bake for 9-11 minutes, making sure not to let your cookies brown!
10. Let cool and enjoy!