St. Nick Cookies

1. In large bowl, with mixer on medium-high, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, corn syrup and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into disk. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness on floured surface. Using 3-inch Santa-face cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can. Carefully transfer to baking sheet, 1 inch apart. Bake 14 to 18 minutes, or until golden. Cool 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire rack, and let cool completely.

3. To decorate: Thin 1 cup royal icing (recipe follows) with 1 tablespoon water, and tint red with food coloring. Using tip of index finger, spread red icing over hat. Let dry 30 minutes. Spread white icing on pom-pom and bottom edge of hat. Cover with sprinkles. Spread Santa's beard with white icing, and fluff with tip of spoon. For face, pipe black-icing eyes and attach cinnamon-candy nose.

Royal Icing
In large bowl, with mixer on low, beat together all ingredients until well combined. Increase speed to high, and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. If not using immediately, press plastic wrap directly onto surface of icing and store in refrigerator for up to 1 week (bring icing to room temperature before using). Tip: To make sprinkles stick to cookies, pipe icing onto unbaked cookie, top with sprinkles and bake as directed.