Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Yes, you are reading this correctly, I did indeed post sugar cookies two days in a row. Allow me to explain.

My post yesterday was mostly about the decorating of sugar cookies with royal icing and it became a little long, especially with all the pictures. So today I’m posting the recipe itself, as well as the royal icing recipe I used. It isn’t necessary to use this particular royal icing recipe, I’m just saying, royal has a tendency to taste ass-nasty but by adding a little flavor to the mix it can be a welcome addition. Of course, a simple glaze will work too, as well as buttercream frosting if you want to amp up the buttery goodness of the cookies to an extreme mouth-coating level.

Both of these recipes have been modified from their original Wilton source in an attempt to, oh, I don’t know, make them taste as good as they were easy to make. Another thing I like is how quickly these cookies come together and require no refrigeration before baking… a total plus for the spur-of-the-moment sugar cookie baker in all of us! Feel free to bake a batch for yourself, just know ahead of time, it makes a lot of cookies!

Super Easy No Chill Sugar Cookies

1 cup salted butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer (this is where having a KitchenAid comes in REALLY handy!) Add the egg and vanilla extract until well incorporated. Mix baking powder and flour, and add one cup at a time, mixing after each addition, or do what I do and simply hold the bowl over the mixer as it is on low and scoop the flour in slowly. The dough will be very stiff, but should come together when you knead it by hand. DO NOT CHILL DOUGH!!! Divide dough into 2 balls. On floured surface, roll each ball into circle approximately 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Dip cutters in flour before each use to prevent sticking. Bake cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 6-7 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned. Let the cookies sit for about a minute on the pan before placing them onto a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.

Royal Icing

6 tablespoons Meringue Powder
2lb powdered sugar
12 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat all ingredients at low speed in a stand mixer for 7-10 minutes. Yep, that’s it. You should have beautiful peaks, which indicate that it is ready. Beat for 10-12 minutes on high if using a portable mixer, which will probably blow out the motor and start a fire. I’ve used both the paddle and the whisk attachments for making royal icing and either works for me. This makes the stiff icing used for piping edges and details, and if you want thinner icing simply stir in a teaspoon of water per cup of icing until it is pouring consistency. Also to color the icing stir in a fairly large amount of gel food coloring into the portion you wish to color. Personally, I like to make a lot of different colors and make everything painfully difficult because that is how I roll. If you are only icing one or two colors, you could get by with making a half batch of Royal Icing for the batch of sugar cookies.

One side-note: If you don’t have Meringue Powder, you can also use 6 egg whites in place of the both it and the water, just mix until frothy before adding sugar and extracts.

Okay, so here is a second side-note: Make sure all of your utensils are free of grease! I ensure this by putting a small amount of white vinegar in the mixing bowl and wiping it thoroughly with a clean paper towel, which I also use to wipe off the paddle and measuring spoons.