Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

December 18, 2020

Decorating sugar cookies is such a classic holiday activity - from the youngest to the oldest, everyone has so much fun expressing their creativity through royal icing. So I’m so happy to share my sugar cookie and royal icing recipes with you!

A lot of time, decorated sugar cookies look amazing (seriously, they can be works of art), but then you take a bite and the cookie is hard, dry and flavorless. These are NOT those cookies. The cookie itself is super soft (remember to underbake the cookies ever so slightly) , with a buttery flavor that is enhanced by the vanilla and orange zest. The orange pairs so nicely with the almond in the royal icing. Yes, they are very sweet (they are SUGAR cookies, after all), but the orange and almond give the cookies a little more depth of flavor.

For the icing, you’ll need meringue powder, which is readily available on Amazon or at your local crafting or baking supply store. The meringue powder is what makes the icing dry hard. If you don’t have meringue powder, you can also decorate with a buttercream or a simple icing, but these will both stay soft, which makes it a little harder to include in your holiday cookie box.

These cookies may look like they came from a professional kitchen, but anyone can make beautiful decorated sugar cookies with the right tools (see the tips below) and with practice. I can’t wait to see what you all make!

recipe

Quantity: ~3-4 dozen cookies, depending on what size cutter you use

Time: ~4-6 hours

Ingredients: 

Cookies

• 336 g (3 sticks or 1 1/2 cups) butter, room temp 

• 396 g (2 cups) granulated sugar

• Zest of one orange

• 4 eggs

• 1 tablespoon vanilla (paste if you have it)

• 660 g (5 1/2 cups) all purpose flour 

• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Royal Icing

• 43 g (1/4 cup) meringue powder

• 4 oz (1/2 cup) water

• 453 g (4 cups) confectioners’ sugar

• 2 tablespoons almond extract

• Food coloring (gel if you have it)

Process:

Cookies

1. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar and zest (if using) until smooth.

2. Beat in eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as necessary.

3. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt - mix until just combined, scraping as necessary. Cover, and chill dough for at least 1/2 hour (or overnight).

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. 

5. Working in portions, roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, flouring the bottom piece of parchment paper and the top of the dough very lightly.

6. Roll out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. If the dough is sticking, freeze the rolled out dough between the parchment paper until hardened, and then cut your shapes. 

7. Place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets. Freeze for 10 minutes, then bake for 6-8 minutes. Err on the side of underbaking (as soon as they lose their sheen). They don’t need to be golden around the edges - pale is okay.  Let cool completely before decorating. 

Royal Icing

1. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk water and meringue powder until frothy and volume has almost doubled.

2. Switch to the paddle attachment. Add the confectioners sugar and mix until just combined.

3. Add the almond extract and mix on medium high speed for 5-8 minutes until the icing has thickened.

4. When you drizzle the icing over itself, it should sit on top of the icing for a while before fully disappearing. Err on the side of thicker icing.

5. Divide and add food coloring (preferably gel food coloring), mixing until the color has fully combined. Decorate using tipless piping bags or ziploc bags. 

Tips: 

• Sugar cookies are labor intensive, so I suggest making the cookies the day before you want to decorate them, especially if you are doing the decorating as an activity. You’ll have more time for the fun stuff!

• For super soft cookies, don’t overwork the dough too much. If the dough is sticky, dust lightly with flour or place the dough back in the fridge or freezer to firm up. I also underbake my cookies ever so slightly - as soon as the sheen is gone, take them out of the oven. They don’t need to be golden around the edges - pale is okay.  

• For the icing, err on the side of a thicker consistency. That way the icing won’t spill over the sides of the cookie. 

• If you don’t like almond extract for the icing, you can use any extract you like. If you use vanilla, I would recommend clear vanilla so that you don’t impact the color of the icing. Depending on the extract you choose, you may want to omit the orange zest from the cookie dough. 

• This dough freezes really well. Just double wrap in cling wrap and then in foil. Defrost in the fridge before rolling. 

• Some recommended supplies that will help set you up for success: 

  • Parchment paper (I like the pre-cut sheets)

  • Rolling guides (to ensure uniform thickness)

  • Tipless piping bags (I use them for lots of different baking projects, not just icing)

  • Toothpicks (for spreading the icing)

  • Tweezers (for placing sprinkles)