Frosted Holiday Sugar Cookies Recipe
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Category: |
Category: |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: FOR THE COOKIES:
2 1/2 C. (312 grams) flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp. table salt)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 C. confectioners sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg
FOR THE ROYAL ICING:
3 3/4 C. confectioners’ sugar
3 large egg whites
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
Pinch kosher salt
Food coloring, as needed
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Directions: |
Directions:1) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
2) In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in vanilla, then beat in egg.
3) Add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Divide the dough into quarters, pat into flat rectangles, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.
4) Removing one packet of dough from the refrigerator at a time, roll out to 1/8-inch thickness between two sheets of parchment paper, wax paper, or plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough. Chill until firm, about 20 minutes.
5) Heat the oven to 350º F. Line four cookie sheets with parchment paper, sprinkling with a little flour if the dough seems sticky. Cut out shapes from the rolled and chilled dough and place on prepared sheets 1-inch apart. Bake until golden around the edges, 8 to 13 minutes. Let cool.
6) Meanwhile, prepare the royal icing: in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Whisk until stiff and glossy. Using a whisk attachment in a stand mixer, this may take a full 10 minutes. It could be longer if using a hand mixer.
7) To tint the frosting, divide into small bowls. Cover the ones you aren’t using with plastic wrap; the frosting dries out very quickly. Use a rubber spatula to stir in desired food coloring. Though not necessary, it makes life easier if you make two versions of each color – one that is thick to pipe the outline on the cookie, and one that is thinned out slightly with a little water to flood the outline. Transfer frosting to piping bags fitted with very small round tips (sizes 1 to 2 work best).
8) Pipe frosting onto cooled cookies and let set, at least 2 hours. Or use a pastry or paint brush to decorate cookies with the frosting. |
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Number Of
Servings: |
Number Of
Servings:4 dozen |
Preparation
Time: |
Preparation
Time:40 minutes, plus chilling and decorating |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Whether you're making Santas or dreidls, shamrocks or bunnies, this foolproof cookie and royal icing recipe is the only one you need. Don't skip chilling the dough after rolling it out. It really helps the cookies keep their shape while baking. The icing becomes quite hard, making them easy to stack. If you'd like to frost the cookies very generously, consider doubling the icing amounts.
Notes:
1. The dough can be crumbly if there's too much flour added from accidentally over-packing the measuring cup. If you have a scale, weighing is more exact. If not, try spooning the flour into the measuring cup lightly, making sure not to pack it.
2. Be sure to use confectioners sugar, not powdered sugar, because confectioners sugar has a small amount of cornstarch in it. It makes for a more tender dough that can be rolled repeatedly without getting tough.
Option: Instead of the Royal Icing, you can make a simple thin glaze with confectioners sugar and water, then brush it on the cookies and top with sprinkles.
Caution: this Royal Icing recipe includes raw egg whites. To avoid the risk of salmonella, use pasteurized fresh or powdered egg whites.
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