Sugar Cookie Master Guide

• servings: 20 items
• total time: 2 hours

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.

1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 egg, room temp

3 tsp. vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups confectioner's sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp. meringue powder

3-5 Tbsp. water

Directions

Using a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and confectioner’s sugar on low speed until smooth. Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula throughout this recipe to make sure that everything is evenly combined.

Add in the egg and vanilla. Mix for about 2 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. About 1 1/2 minutes.

Transfer the cookie dough on top of parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment paper on top and roll the dough out to about 1/4″ thick. The key to getting these so soft in the center is the width. Rolling to 1/4″ thickness is what you want.

Once the dough is rolled out between two pieces of parchment paper, place onto a cookie sheet and let chill in the fridge for at least one hour. If you plan on preparing the dough ahead of time and will chill for longer, wrap the cookie sheet in plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out.

Now that the dough has chilled and is nice and firm, use cookie cutters to cut out all of your shapes. You can ball up the scraps and re-roll the dough to use all of it up.

Place the cutout cookies on a cookie sheet fit with parchment paper about 2″ apart. Let sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes before baking.

Bake the cookies at 400 degrees F for about 8-9 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom. Depending on the size of the cookie cutter you may need more or less time. Judge the doneness of the cookie based on the bottom side of the cookie – we want a nice golden color.

Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before decorating.

Enjoy!

Royal Icing

In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, mix together the confectioner’s sugar and meringue powder on low speed.

Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until the royal icing is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is mixing evenly together.

Judge the consistency of the royal icing by lifting up the paddle attachment and taking notice of the ribbons the icing falls in. You don’t want a thin, watery consistency or a super thick, hard consistency. The icing should fall in smooth ribbons that disappear into the icing after a few seconds.

While you color your icing, or do the dishes, etc. be sure to keep the icing covered at all times with a damp rag. This will prevent the top of the royal icing from hardening and crystallizing.

Dye however many colors you need and place them into individual piping bags.