Holiday Sugar Cookies

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Ingredients

  • For Cookies:

    1 cup unsalted butter

    1 cup granulated sugar

    1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

    1 egg

    2 teaspoons baking powder

    ½ teaspoon salt

    3 cups all purpose flour

  • For Royal Icing:

    2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

    2 tablespoons meringue powder

    ½ tsp. light corn syrup

    6 tablespoons water

    Food Coloring

Procedure

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until smooth, at least 3 minutes.

  • Beat in the vanilla and egg.

  • In a separate bowl, combine the baking powder, salt, and flour and mix together with a whisk or wooden spoon. 

  • Add the flour mixture a half cup at a time to the wet ingredients. Mix the dough until it is pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If it looks too dry or stiff for your mixer, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand.

  • DO NOT CHILL THE DOUGH. Divide the dough into two balls. Roll out the first ball to about ¼ inch thick. Do not roll too thin, the cookies should be on the thicker side.

  • Cut out shapes with the cookie cutters. If you are using two different size cutters, place similar sizes on their own sheet to ensure a uniform cooking time for each batch.

  • Bake for 12 - 15 minutes depending on the size of the cookies, rotating half way through. Remove from the oven when the cookies feel firm to the touch, but before the dough has a golden brown appearance. The tops should remain fairly light even when the bottom of the cookies is well cooked.

    For Icing:

    • In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat together the confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and water for about 2 minutes.  

    • If the icing is too thick, add more water, a teaspoon at a time. If it is too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar a tablespoon at a time. The desired thickness will differ depending upon whether you are spreading or piping the frosting. 

    • Add one teaspoon of water to the container of food coloring powder and mix with a toothpick. Be careful not to spill the food coloring as it can stain counter tops and clothing. Fold the food coloring into the icing and mix well. A little goes a long way. If pink frosting is desired, add only a drop of the food coloring, then mix to see if more coloring is desired as using all of the coloring will result in a deep red color.

    • Fill a piping bag with the icing by placing the bag into a tall glass or wide mouthed jar, folding the bag over the edges. Spoon the icing into the bag then lift the bag and fold over the top. Trim off the point of the piping bag to begin piping. Make sure that the hole is fairly small, about 1/16 to ⅛ of an inch.

    • Use thicker icing to create lines and borders. Thin the icing with a small amount of water to flood the interior of your design.