Christmas Cookies - Royal Icing (left), Egg-Free Icing (right) |
Yield: 5 Dozen Cookies
Santa Belt, Mrs. Claus' Dress, Santa Sleigh and Snow Globes |
Ingredients
5 cups King Arthur All Purpose Flour
2 cups Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Coarse Salt
2 cups Unsalted Butter, softened
1 tablespoon Milk
2 XL Eggs
3 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
Directions
Whisk together flour and salt; set aside.
Cream butter and sugar in a hand held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment on low; 1-2 minutes. Do not overmix.
Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix for 10 seconds.
Melted Snowmen and Snowmen |
Add milk and vanilla extract, and mix on low until incorporated, about 20-25 seconds.
With mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture and incorporate. The dough is ready when it begins to clump around paddle attachment.
Snowflakes |
Take half of the dough leaving unused dough covered with plastic wrap in fridge until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Stars |
If needed, dip cutters in flour, shake off excess, and make shapes.
Place onto cookies sheets lined with parchment paper, and put in freezer for 20 minutes. The cookies hold their shape when you do this.
Reindeer, Mittens, Santa Hats and Stockings |
Wait 2-3 minutes before transferring cookies on cooling racks to complete cooling.
Decorate once cookies have cooled completely.
Large Batch Royal Icing
Ingredients
8 Egg Whites
8 teaspoons Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
12 cups Powdered/Confectioners' Sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon Clear Vanilla Extract
Reindeer, Gnome, Nutcracker |
Directions
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar, set aside.
In a bowl, add egg whites.
In a bowl, whisk together the egg whites and lemon juice.
Transfer to stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment and mix on high for 1-2 minutes.
Add vanilla extract and mix for 5-10 seconds.
With mixer speed on low, slowly add sifted sugar and beat on low until smooth.
If needed, you may add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until you reach the right consistency. Watch the Joy of Baking (link at the end) video for both Flooding Consistency and Piping Consistency Royal Icing. If you prefer a recipe using Meringue Powder, it is also available at this link.
Trees |
6 cups Powdered/Confectioners' Sugar, sifted
1/2 cup Whole Milk + 1 tablespoon extra (for flooding cookies)
1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup
2 teaspoons Clear Vanilla Extract
Candy Cane, Gingerbread Boys, Holly |
Directions
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar; set aside.
Using stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment on medium-high speed, combine sugar and 1/4 cup of milk and mix for 1-2 minutes until smooth.
Add remaining 1/4 cup of milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach the consistency you need. (I made one batch for the borders, and 1 batch to fill the cookies). For filling the cookies, I added 1 extra tablespoon of milk.
Add corn syrup, vanilla extract and mix for 10 seconds.
Note: The corn syrup gives the icing a lovely shine.
Ornaments |
I used AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste Food Color in various colors. Use 1-2 drops at a time until you have the color you need.
Keep the containers covered until you are ready to color.
I transferred the icing immediately into squeeze bottles using a small funnel to prevent spilling.
If the royal icing hardens due to exposure to air, use a spray bottle and spray a little bit of water and shake bottle well holding the tip with your finger. Test the icing consistency on a paper towel before decorating the cookie.
This time, I did not need to do this since I kept the icing covered when not in use.
I outlined the cookies, and waited 1/2 hour and then filled them.
Use a paintbrush or cookie stick to reach edges, and use tip of cookie stick or a toothpick to pop any air bubbles.
Add sprinkles, confetti, sugar pearls, silver dragees, etc... over wet icing.
Cookie Tins, Custom Two Frys Gift Tags (Allen's) |
Let cookies dry overnight. This is essential so the icing does not stick together when you stack them or place in cookie tins for gifts.
If you are baking and it is humid, you may need more time for the cookies to dry.
For further information:
Please visit, Sweetopia for the Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe:
http://sweetopia.net/2009/12/sugar-cookie-recipe/
Please visit, Joy of Baking for the Royal Icing Recipe and Video Tutorial:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html
Please visit, The Slow Roasted Italian for the Egg-Free Icing Recipe:
http://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2013/12/best-tasting-sugar-cookie-icing-recipe.html
Enjoy!
-Sophia/Two Frys
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