Cut It Out!

Christmas cookies are a must for the holidays. I make them every year but I usually make my Great Aunt Mary's Sugar Cookie recipe. This year I attempted a royal iced cookie from Cookie Craft that Lorelei from Mermaids Sweets shared with me. This is the second time I've made this recipe and it is really good. I don't think it will replace the other cookie recipe simply because they're so different but it's the perfect cookie for special occasions. Thanks Lorelei for sharing with me!

The first time I made these I made onesie cookies for a baby shower. They were decorated in pink and green and turned out so cute. I'll share those with you another time. It was my first time making them and while the cookies turned out perfectly, my icing job was a little rough. This time around things went a little smoother.

I like this recipe because you roll the cookies between sheets of waxed or parchment paper, which means you don't have to roll them on a counter with excess flour. Which means your cookies won't get tough or dry as you reroll them. Also as long as you work with the dough when it's been chilled properly, it's a breeze to work with. Keeping them cold also ensures that the cookies will keep their shape when you bake them.

These cookies are crisp and sturdy. They're buttery and fragrant. I use a combination of Mexican vanilla and lemon extract in the cookies but you could also use almond extract or even add a little nutmeg or cinnamon to the cookies as well. Lorelei was kind enough to send me the recipe in a word document so I could just print it out. If you'd like the printable recipe for the cookies and icing, just let me know and I'll send it your way.

Rolled Sugar Cookies from Cookie Craft

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla or 1 teaspoon vanilla plus zest of 1 lemon*

Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

Using your mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. (use paddle attachment). Add the egg and the vanilla (and lemon zest if using) or your extract of choice and mix until well-blended.

With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until the two are thoroughly blended.

Turn the dough onto the work surface and divide it into two or three equal portions. Form each one into a rough disk. Place a cookie sheet sized piece of wax paper or parchment paper on your rolling surface.

Place a sheet of wax paper over the cookie dough and use your hand or rolling pin to slightly flatten and evenly distribute the dough across the paper. Roll the pin over the paper covered dough. If the top paper wrinkles, lift and smooth it. You’re finished rolling when the dough surface is uniform and completely flat and it is easy to roll the pin over the dough. Roll dough to a 1/4-inch thickness.

Slide the rolled-out piece of dough (paper and all) onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate it until its firm – this should be 20-30 minutes. Repeat the rolling process with the remaining dough portions.

When the dough is firm, it will pretty much be stiff as a board, remove it from the refrigerator to your flat work surface. Working with one piece of dough at a time, leaving the others in the fridge to chill until you are ready to use them, cut the dough into the desired shape with cutters. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

After you’ve rolled and cut the dough and the cookie shapes are on the parchment-lined cookies sheets, bake them in the middle rack of your oven for 12-16 minutes or until the cookies start to turn slightly golden around the edges (smaller cookies will be done more quickly). If you decide to bake two sheets of cookies at a time, space your two oven racks evenly in the oven and rotate the cookie sheets halfway through baking (that is, switch the position of the top sheet and bottom sheet and turn both so that the front of each sheet is at the back to promote even baking).

Cool the cookies completely on a rack before icing or decorating.

Yield:

• 2 ½ inch cookies – about 30
• 3 ½ inch cookies – about 16
• 4 ½ inch cookies – about 12

NOTE: For the sugar cookies, I use 1 tsp. Mexican vanilla and 1 tsp. lemon extract

Royal Icing using Meringue Powder

For Piping:

Makes 2 cups

• 2 cups Confectioner’s Sugar
• 4 teaspoons Meringue Powder
• 3 tablespoons Warm Water
• 1 tablespoon (lemon juice) or 1 tsp extract

Makes 4 cups

• 4 cups Confectioner's Sugar
• 3 tablespoons Meringue Powder
• 6 tablespoons Warm Water
• 2 tablespoons (lemon juice) or 2 tsp extract

For Flooding:

Makes 2 cups

• 2 cups Confectioner's Sugar
• 4 teaspoons Meringue Powder
• 6 tablespoons Warm Water
• 1 tablespoon (lemon juice) or 1 tsp extract

Makes 4 cups

• 4 cups Confectioner's Sugar
• 3 tablespoons Meringue Powder
• 12 tablespoons Warm Water
• 2 tablespoons (lemon juice) or 1-2 tsp extract

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of your electric mixer. Beat on high for 5 minutes if you’re using an electric stand mixer or for 10 minutes if you’re using an electric hand mixer. If your mixer has multiple attachments, use the paddle.

When you reach the desired consistency, its important that you immediately cover the mixture or store in airtight containers.

Piping Consistency

When first mixed, piping icing will start out with the consistency of white glue. When you’ve finished beating the icing, it will be glossy with the consistency similar to that of toothpaste. The icing should squeeze easily out of a #2 tip but should stay in place and hold its shape on the cookie when it lands.

If the icing is too stiff, it’ll be hard to squeeze from the pastry bag and may lift up off the cookie when you finish the outline or detail, and will also tend to “flake off” the cookie readily when dry.

Flood Consistency

When first mixed, flood icing will appear very soupy. Never fear! In 5 minutes your icing will be shiny and an opaque white color with the consistency of heavy cream.

Flood icing is sometimes known as flow icing for a reason, when you squirt it onto a cookie, it immediately flows toward the piped borders.

The icing should be so thin that it puns like water or that its cookie coverage is transparent, and it shouldn’t be so thick that it stays in place when you squirt onto the cookie.

Allow to dry overnight or until no longer tacky.

NOTE: I tripled the cookie recipe and used the amounts for 4 cups of icing. That was way too much icing, so I suggest making the lesser amount of you're only making one batch of cookies.

I used non pareils, dragees, cinnamon imperials and coarse sanding sugar for decoration. Place decorations on while icing is still wet.

What kind of cookies did you make this year? Any favorites?