Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup reduced-calorie margarine, at room temperature
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• ¼ cup light corn syrup
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp table salt
• ½ tsp ground cardamom, if desired
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 cups powdered sugar (confectioners), lightly packed

Instructions

1. In a mixer on medium, beat sugar and margarine together until crumbly. Add 1 egg, corn syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla; beat until smooth and pale in color.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the margarine mixture until blended. Divide the dough into four equal parts and flatten each quarter to form a round. Wrap each in plastic; refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F.
4. Lightly spray baking sheet(s) with cooking spray. On a lightly floured board roll out one round to 1/4-1/8 inch thickness. With a lightly floured Christmas tree cookie cutter (about 2 inches tall), cut out cookies and transfer them, about 2 inches apart, to a baking sheet; repeat with the remaining dough.
5. Bake until golden brown on the bottom, 5 to 9 minutes. Remove from the oven; cool completely.
6. For Royal Icing, in a large bowl whip egg whites and powdered sugar at low speed until the sugar is moistened. Beat at high speed until glossy and stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted, about 6 minutes. Divide icing depending on how many colors you want to use. Add food coloring to achieve the desired tint. To decorate cookies place icing in a small plastic bag; snip a tiny hole off one corner of the bag. Pipe icing onto the cooled cookies to create tree-trimming designs and ornaments.
7. Yields 24 Holiday Sugar Cookies trees, one person!