The Best Sugar Cookies With Royal Icing

Who hasn’t quite finished their holiday baking? I spent the majority of yesterday baking with my best friend and while I’m definitely still learning, I find myself sneaking one of these cookies almost every ten minutes. Not only are they beautiful to look at, but they taste SO good and have easily become my go-to holiday cookies recipe. Typically I find nicely decorated sugar cookies to be hard or gross (when they are pretty to look at), but these sugar cookies with royal icing actually taste as good as they look!

This recipe comes from Home Baked Blessings in Columbus, she makes the most BEAUTIFUL cookies. I went to a cookie decorating class of hers a few weeks ago and now I am hooked. I want to be as skillful as her but know practice is the only thing that makes perfect! So, if you haven’t finished your cookies yet, try these out and if you have, then plan on making some New Years cookies. You won’t be disappointed.

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Classic Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1.5 Cup of Softened unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Directions

1. Cream butter and sugar together.
2. Add eggs one at a time and blend
3. add vanilla
4. mix flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
5. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients one cup at a time, blending until just combined.
6. Form dough ball and chill for one hour.
7. Pre-heat over to 380
8. Roll dough and cut desired shapes
9. Bake for 7 minutes and remove immediately and cool.

Classic Royal Icing Recipe:

Ingredients

• 5 Tbsp meringue powder
• 1 Tsbp clear vanilla
• 1 tsbp light corn syrup
• .5 cup warm water
• 2 lb bag of powdered sugar
• food gel color
• additional water as needed

Directions

1. Whisk first four ingredients together until frothy.
2. Slowly add powdered sugar and combine until shiny and smooth (about 4 minutes)
3. Spoon mixture into bowls and color with desired coloring.
4. Add into pastry bags.

**Depending on the detailing, you may need to add water to “flood” the cookie with icing (thinned icing), or keep thick for detail lines, etc. For “flooding” (i.e. coloring the whole cookie in), you want the consistency of shampoo. For detailing lines, you want the consistency of toothpaste.

I baked three batches of dough about three weeks ago and just popped two in the fridge. It’s perfect for making ahead and you can even bake the cookies ahead (don’t icing them) and freeze them until you’re ready to decorate! I should also note that you can freeze the royal icing in the pastry bags if you don’t use it all! Then just roll between your hands to remix before using again! It makes prep so much easier!

Now for wrapping and coffee! Only two sleeps until Christmas friends!

Do you like decorating sugar cookies with royal icing?  Let me know in a comment below!

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