Chef Mary Berg’s Unforgettable Sugar Cookies for Santa

Chef Mary Berg recently partnered with Samsung Canada to make her Unforgettable Sugar Cookies for Santa with some very special helpers from SickKids.

With Christmas just around the corner, young patients at the hospital were worried that Santa would have difficulty finding them.

So a baking session was organized and Chef Mary Berg and her helpers got to work making the best cookies they could imagine.

The event was to help draw attention to the SickKids Milk & Cookies campaign that sees food companies donate portions of their sales to SickKids that will help make the hospital feel less like a hospital.

Samsung Canada has said that they will match individual donations to the program made from Dec 4th-24th, 2019 up to a total of $25,000.

Want to make the cookies at home? Here is the recipe!

Sugar Cookies Mary Berg
Chef Mary Berg and the kids making her Unforgettable Sugar Cookies for Santa.

White Sugar Cookies

Makes 10 to 12 large cookies

-¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
-1 cup sugar
-1 egg
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-2 cups all purpose flour
-2 teaspoons cornstarch
-1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
-½ teaspoon kosher salt
-1 ¼ cups mix-ins, optional

1. In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat well to combine.

2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and kosher salt. Add in the mix-ins and stir to coat with the flour mixture.

3. Add the dry ingredients all at once to the wet ingredients and mix on low just until combined. Place the cookie dough into the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

4. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 2oz or ¼ cup scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet making sure to leave about 4-inches between each cookie. Using the palm of your hand, press the cookies down slightly then bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the edges and tops of the cookies are set but the middles are still soft. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to rest for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Brown Sugar Cookies

Makes 10 to 12 large cookies

-¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
-1 cup brown sugar
-¼ cup sugar
-1 egg
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
-½ cup bread flour
-2 teaspoons cornstarch
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-½ teaspoon kosher salt
-1 ¼ cups mix-ins

1. In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat well to combine.

2. In a separate bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and kosher salt. Add in the mix-ins and stir to coat with the flour mixture.

3. Add the dry ingredients all at once to the wet ingredients and mix on low just until combined. Place the cookie dough into the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

4. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 2oz or ¼ cup scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet making sure to leave about 4-inches between each cookie. Using the palm of your hand, press the cookies down slightly then bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the edges and tops of the cookies are set but the middles are still soft. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to rest for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

 

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Editor-In-Chief at Toronto Guardian. Photographer and Writer for Toronto Guardian and Joel Levy Photography