food

Simple Sugar Cookie Cutout Recipe

NEW YORK – Follow this delicious video recipe and give it a try!

Cookies:
Makes approximately 2 dozen 4 inch sized cookies.
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter softened (unsalted), if you use salted omit salt with the flour
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. stir together flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside
2. Cream together sugar and butter, add eggs and vanilla and mix until fluffy.
Gradually add flour mixture a little at a time. Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour.
3. Heat oven to 350F. Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper and cut out into shapes or pinch off portion of dough and form into desired shape (about 1/4″ thick)
4. Place cutouts on a parchment or silicone mat covered cookie sheet (or grease cookie sheet) using a spatula. Refrigerate cutouts for 15 minutes prior to baking if desired (I didn’t and the cookies didn’t spread much).
Bake at 350F until edges are golden brown about 10-15 minutes depending on your cookie sheet. I recommend you set a kitchen time for 8 minutes and take a peek then. If you are putting more than one cookie sheet at a time in the oven rotate their positions at the halfway mark.

Decorate cookies with Royal icing (recipe below)

1 pound icing sugar (a.k.a. powdered or confectioner’s sugar)
5 tablespoons meringue powder
about 1/2 cup water depending on how runny or thick you want it to be.
Tint with food colour as desired.
Combine sugar, meringue and water and beat with an electric mixer until smooth about 7 minutes. Add water a little at a time until you get desired consistency. Use immediately, or store in airtight container up to 2 days (icing hardens quickly when exposed to air.