This is a very dramatic sugar cookie!
You can use any basic sugar or butter cookie recipe to make these fun poinsettia flower cookies! They are easy to make, and pretty enough for gifting. I gave a holiday tin full of these babies to my mail carrier, my UPS guy and my neighbors!
I am serious when I say that they take no more effort than rolling out dough and cutting out shapes...if anything, they take lesseffort!

Materials:
Prepared Sugar cookie dough
Blunt tip scissors (like the safety scissors kids use)
Cookie sheet
Red decorative sugar
Ramekin or bowl
Preheated oven (follow your cookie recipe instructions)

Step 1: Chill & Roll

Chill your prepared cookie dough for at least half an hour (30 minutes) before rolling. You want the dough to stick to itself, not your hands!

No flour for rolling, this will make your dough stiff and dry.

I used a Tablespoon to scoop out dough, then rolled it into balls with clean hands. More or less round is good, perfect is not necessary! This is a fun step with the kids. My daughter had a blast making the sugar cookie dough balls.

After your dough is rolled into balls (that will measure roughly an inch across), place them on a plate or in a baggie.

Refrigerate for at least an hour. You want the dough to be very cold when you cut it.

Step 2: Roll in Sugar

The next part is also fun to do with the kiddos!
I used a small ramekin with a few Tablespoons of Red decorative sugar, and rolled each dough ball in the sugar.

Place the dough ball in the ramekin, and swirl the ball in a circular motion until completely coated with sugar. This way, the dough doesn't get warm from hand contact.

I rolled each dough ball in sugar then cut it right away, so the petals would hold the right shape.
Soft dough = wilty flowers or funky petal shapes!

Step 3: Cut the Petals

Using the blunt tip scissors, cut the dough ball almost in half. Do not go all the way through the bottom, as shown in the pictures.

Next, you will cut each dough ball half into thirds. This will make up your petals. Again, do not cut all the way down.

Gently splay the petals out in a circle. Do not force them down, you will rip the center out of your cookie! Just gently push them out a little - the petals will completely "unfurl" and "burst into bloom" in the oven!

Step 4: Bake According to Recipe

My sugar cookie recipe calls for a preheated oven of 375 degrees (F) and a bake time of 8-10 minutes.
10 minutes turned out to be perfect for the shape of the cookie, and gave a light golden brown on the edges.

I recommend letting the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a minute before you attempt to transfer to a cooling rack.

These poinsettia cookies are pretty either way you display them, face up or face down!