Cookies are fun to make. From easy drop cookies to bars types to shaped varieties, they're a great project to do with kids, and they're probably the most versatile dessert item for entertaining. Sugar cookies are a classic. They can be soft and chewy or a bit harder and crunchy.
Cookies with the icing on top
The various shapes of sugar cookies say "celebrate" like little else. They can be made way ahead and frozen, and you can lightly sprinkle them with granulated sugar or elaborately ice them with different colors of icing. Kids love helping to roll them out and, of course, they enjoy helping to decorate.
The Royal Icing can be piped onto the cookies for a traditional look. You can tint the icing any color you like and vary its consistency for a variety of effects. Kids can help make the icing, and they love to apply it to the cookies. However, these cookies are great even without the icing — and if you're going to freeze them, please freeze them undecorated.
Classic Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes; 2 hours cooling time
Yield: Thirty-six 3-inch cookies
1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1-1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Sugar or colored sugar (optional)
1. Beat the butter in a mixer until it's creamy. Use a flat paddle attachment on medium-high speed. With the mixer running, add the sugar gradually and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Beat in the salt and the eggs, one at a time. Mix well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl once or twice.
3. Turn the machine off and add about one-third of the flour. Incorporate the flour on low speed, adding the rest of the flour in two batches. Beat just until blended.
4. Scrape the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Use the wrap to help shape a large, flat disk. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or until it's firm enough to roll. At this point, the dough may be refrigerated for up to two days or frozen for up to one week. (If you freeze the dough, allow it to defrost overnight in the refrigerator. If it's very firm, allow it to sit at room temperature until it's the proper consistency for rolling).
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
6. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness; cut out cookies with the cookie cutters of your choice. Transfer the cookies to the prepared sheets. Sprinkle with plain or colored sugar, if desired. Bake for about 8 minutes or until the edges have just begun to turn golden. For even baking, rotate the sheet pans once while the cookies are baking.
7. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on pans set on cooling racks, and then transfer the cookies directly to the racks to cool completely. Repeat with your remaining dough, cooling the pans between uses.
8. Store the cookies at room temperature for up to two weeks or freeze for up to one month.
 | Make sure to use real vanilla extract in this recipe. You should almost always use real extract instead of imitation vanilla. Here, where vanilla is the principle flavor, using the good stuff is all the more important. |
 | Always use large eggs for the recipes in this book, or the balance of the recipe will be thrown off. |
Royal Icing
Preparation time: 8 minutes
Yield: -2/3 cup
1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1 large egg white (or an equivalent amount of reconstituted powdered egg white)
1. Using a balloon whip attachment, combine the confectioners sugar and the egg white in a mixer's bowl on low speed. Turn the speed up to high and whip until the icing is thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add a little water for a thinner consistency or more sugar for a thicker consistency.
2. Use the icing immediately or refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to one week. You will need to re-beat the icing before using.
| Although Royal Icing can be stored, it's best used fresh. It's so quick to make that preparing it right before you use it isn't difficult. |
 | If you have a compromised immune system or are very young or elderly, your doctor may suggest not eating raw eggs. Meringue powder, which can be purchased at craft stores and anywhere cake decorating ingredients are found, can be used in place of egg whites. Substitute 5 tablespoons meringue powder, reconstituted per the manufacturer's instructions, for one egg white. |
Per serving: Calories 154 (From Fat 72); Total fat 8g (Saturated 5g); Cholesterol 38mg; Sodium 39mg; Carbohydrates 18g (Dietary Fiber 0g); Protein 2g.
Working with Royal Icing
Royal Icing may not be imperial, princely, or even exalted, but it is the perfect icing for decorating cookies. It's easy to make, can be tinted to any color you like, and hardens to a solid finish, making cookies decorated with Royal Icing perfect for hanging on the tree, stacking in tins, or mailing to friends.
Here's what you need to know about making and working with Royal Icing:
- You can use food coloring to color Royal Icing. Paste colors are best. They can be found at craft stores that have a cake-decorating section or they can be bought through mail order companies. Use tiny bits at a time, as the coloring is very concentrated. Just add a dab, beat it in, assess the color, and then add a bit more coloring, if desired.
Very dark colors can be difficult to achieve. If you add too much color, the icing begins to taste a bit off. Be judicious.
- To completely cover a cookie with icing, make a thick icing and pipe an outline all the way around the border of the cookie. Use a pastry bag with a #2 tip. Allow the border to dry, then flood the cookie with a thinner icing.
- Two colors of icing can be marbled together. Make an outline in one color. Partially flood the interior with that color and the rest with an alternative color. Draw a toothpick this way and that through the two colors to create a marbled appearance.
- Flavoring may be added as well as coloring. Vanilla extract is an obvious choice, but it adds color. Look for colorless vanilla extract. This is the rare case in which artificial vanilla is an alternative. Another option is almond extract, which is clear.
- After making Royal Icing, keep it covered with a damp cloth or a crust will form.
- While the icing is wet, you can sprinkle colored sugars on top for color, texture, and sparkle.
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