This recipe is like hitting the jackpot, especially because it can be easily modified depending on what your perfect sugar cookie tastes like. It keeps it’s shape when refrigerated, so cookie cutters are a breeze. Also using half shortening and half butter will also make it keep the shape even better. Lastly, this dough can be cooked into thin crispy sugar cookies or thick cake-like cookies.
Prettiest when paired with the royal icing recipe below, but butter-cream frosting or canned frosting will also work!
The Cookies:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 380 degrees F.
Cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Cover and chill at least one hour.
Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4-1/2 inch thick.
Bake 8 minutes or until edges start to slightly brown. Another indicator that the cookies are ready is when the top no longer looks shiny.
Cool slightly on baking sheets and then transfer to cooling rack and cool completely.
Once cookies are completely cooled, frost with royal icing:
here is a video tutorial for piping and flooding icing
– 5 cups powdered Sugar/confectioners sugar
– 3 Eggs (you will only need the egg whites)
– ½ tsp Vanilla extract
- Mix 4 out of the 5 cups of powdered sugar with 3 egg whites and ½ tsp vanill
- Put ¼ of the mixture in a separate bowl. This should be thickened with remaining powdered sugar as needed and will be used for piping. Add any food coloring now. The royal icing used for piping should be the consistency of toothpaste. When drizzled back into the bowl, it should take about 5 seconds to dissolve back into the mixture.
3. Once the cookies are completely cooled, start piping the outline using a plastic decorating bottle . Let the outline dry and then use the flooding icing (thinned to the consistency of maple syrup (maybe a littttle thicker). This is not an exact science, keep adding powdered sugar and water to your liking.
If you like this style of detail, wait for the base layer of royal icing to dry. If you want the top to be flat, decorate the detail while the base is wet. Happy piping & flooding, please comment with any questions or personal experiences with the recipe!
