Sugar Cookies For Decorating And Eating Recipes

THE BEST SUGAR COOKIES FOR DECORATING

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat together the egg and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat until slightly creamy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Reduce the speed to low again and slowly pour in the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture, in 3 additions, increasing the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters as needed. Once all the flour is just incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together. Divide into 2 even pieces. Shape each piece into a flat square and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• To roll, cut and bake the cookies: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Dust another sheet of parchment paper with flour and put 1 piece of the dough on top. Dust with more flour and top with another sheet of parchment. Roll the dough out between the parchment sheets into a square about 1/4-inch thick (about 11-by-9 inches) and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough.
• From 1 piece of rolled dough, cut out cookies with a 2 1/2-inch cutter and arrange on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate while you cut the remaining cookies. Reroll any scraps of dough and repeat the freezing, cutting and refrigerating process until all the dough is used.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets front to back and bottom to top about halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets set on a wire cooling rack, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons water and the vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the icing forms thick and glossy peaks, about 2 minutes (adding up to 1 tablespoon more water, if needed). Tint with a few drops of food coloring as desired.
• Fit a pastry bag with a small round tip and fill it with the icing.
• Pipe royal icing on cookies with the design of your liking and let dry for 30 minutes.

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO ICING COOKIES

Steps:

• Traditional Icing:.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and enough milk until you get an icing that is smooth yet not too thick but not too runny. Add a teaspoon of milk at a time if needed to create the right consistency. Divide between bowls and tint with food coloring, if desired. This makes about 1 ½ cups of icing.
• You can spread this icing onto cooled sugar cookies, or use the dip method, which is what I prefer. Carefully dunk each cookie, one at a time, into the icing and allow any excess to drip off before turning right side up and placing on a baking sheet to set. If you plan on decorating with sprinkles, you want to do that right away while the icing is still wet so that they stick. Continue dipping each cookie until all are decorated. Allow the icing to set for at least 10 minutes before storing or eating.
• Buttercream Icing:.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and shortening until creamy. Add the powdered sugar vanilla, salt and enough of the half and half as needed to create a smooth and creamy frosting. This should be on the thicker side and not runny at all. If the icing is too thick, you can add more half and half, a teaspoon at a time until the correct consistency is reached. Divide between bowls and tint with food coloring, if desired. This makes about 2 ½ cups of icing.
• To decorate, you can spread the frosting onto cooled sugar cookies with a small spatula or use piping bags with various decorating tips to create a more professional or intricate design. If you plan on decorating with sprinkles as well, you want to place them right after decorating with the icing before it sets.
• Royal Icing:.
• In a large bowl, beat together the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and enough water to create a thick and glossy icing. Divide between different bowls and tint with food coloring, if desired. Cover each bowl with plastic wrap or a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out. This makes about 4 cups of icing.
• Royal icing usually has two different applications to it. One is the outline which is slightly thicker icing that you use to outline the designs on your sugar cookies. To achieve this, uncover one of the bowls of icing and whisk in ¼ teaspoon of water at a time until you reach the correct consistency. It should be thick but still pourable. Transfer to a piping bag with a small circle decorating tip. Create an outline of frosting around the edge of your cooled sugar cookies and then let set for about 5 minutes.
• The second royal icing application is referred to as flooding. To achieve this, uncover one of the bowls of icing and whisk in ¼ teaspoon of water at a time until you reach the correct consistency. It should be thinner than the first and pourable. If you lift up the beater the icing should fall and disappear in a matter of seconds. Transfer to a piping bag with a medium circle decorating tip. Then quickly pipe the icing into the center of each outlined cookie, tilting the cookie so that the icing spread out towards the outline. Use a long skewer or toothpick to help spread the icing a bit if needed or to remove any air bubbles. Allow the icing to set for about 10 to 15 minutes before storing or eating.