Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

These next few days could not come any sooner. I am spending the holidays in Kansas, and I cannot wait. What’s in Kansas, you ask? Well, Karl, his sweet family, and of course, Arthur Bryant’s. I have a long to-do list to complete before I leave. I just crossed one thing of my list, and that is make holiday cookies for my Boston pals. 

I love making gifts during the holidays. I think homemade gifts are a great way to show someone you appreciate them any time of the year. In my opinion, you get bonus points if they are edible. I made these delicious snowflake sugar cookies for my dear friends and coworkers. The snowflake cookie cutters are from Sur La Table, and I piped on the icing with Wilton’s #2 tip. 

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing | Sprig and Flours

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing
 
Author:
Serves: 30
Ingredients
For the cookies:
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, soften
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2½ cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
For the icing:
  • 1½ tablespoons Meringue Powder
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 to 3½ tablespoons warm water
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cookies:
  1. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at time, and vanilla extract.
  2. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just incorporated, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
  3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  4. Sprinkle some flour on a clean surface, and knead the cookie dough on the floured surface 6-8 times. Roll the cookie dough with a rolling pin until it's about ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle and gently rub the top of the cookie dough with some flour. With a cookie cutter, cut out the dough and place on the prepared baking sheet.
  5. Bake for 6-7 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 8-10 minutes, then transfer to a wired rack to finish cooling.
For the icing:
  1. Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 5 minutes. For thinner icing, add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time. Pipe or spread on cooled cookies.

 

31 comments

  1. Sarah @SavoringSpoon says:

    Connie these are absolutely BEAUTIFUl! I love the detail on the snowflakes. Also I have the same snowflake cutter! I used them on a cake going on the blog soon! 🙂 Homemade gifts are the best – thanks for sharing these beautiful cookies! Also I like the new site header! 😀

  2. Christina @ The Beautiful Balance says:

    I can not agree more, homemade gifts are THE best ever. It shows how much love, effort, and overall time that the person put into making that gift for you. Cutouts are one of my season favorites but they definitely take some time to do. The drizzled ones are my favorite 🙂

  3. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says:

    I hope you have a wonderful time in Kansas, Connie! These sugar cookies are absolutely gorgeous! I love how you decorated these. Sounds like your friends in Boston will adore these! Home-made gifts are definitely the best. Thanks for sharing!

  4. marcie says:

    These cookies are so pretty with that flawless royal icing! I’m usually too lazy to do royal icing, but it really does look so much nicer. Have a nice time in Kansas!

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