How To: Royal Icing Sugar Cookies

Last weekend my mom, aunt, and I took a cookie icing class from a local cookie pro. She had everything made and ready for everyone when we arrived, so we could just focus on learning the techniques of using royal icing. I had never used it before and I will admit- I was a bit intimidated by the perfect looking finished products. But it ended up being a lot easier than I imagined!
Royal icing sugar cookies
Our class was “snow day” themed, so we made all these cute cold weather cookies! After class I started looking around on Instagram and Pinterest for cute cookie ideas. Big mistake. I became obsessed with cute cookies and ended up ordering all these cookie cutters on Amazon. I bought a Wilton Spring themed cookie cutter set and last week I decided to try making them on my own. It came with a good variety of items and I was happy with the quality (they weren’t flimsy and my cookies didn’t stick to them).
royal icing spring flower sugar cookies
I made my cookies on Wednesday evening and didn’t decorate them until Friday night. I was afraid they’d be too dry because I hadn’t used the cookie recipe before but I ate one when I was done and they were delicious! Now I’m hooked and I will definitely be making cookies for all occasions.
Here’s the cookie recipe I used:
– 2 sticks of butter
– 1 and 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
– 1 egg
– 2 tsp. vanilla
– 2 and 3/4 cups flour
– 2 tsp. baking powder
– 1 tsp. salt
Cream together the butter and powdered sugar. Add egg and vanilla and mix until fully combined. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients into creamed mixture. The dough should be firm and not too sticky. You can add a bit more flour if it gets sticky. I refrigerated mine for about 3 hours before I rolled it out. Roll your dough out to about 1/4″ and cut into shapes. Bake at 400F for 7-9 minutes. If your cookies turn brown at the edges, they’ve cooked too long so try to take them out before they’re browned.
Here’s my favorite icing recipe:
2 lb bag of powdered sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon cream of tartar
4-5 pasteurized egg whites
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
Combine your powdered sugar and cream of tartar. Slowly add in the egg whites. Add the extract (you can use any extract of your choosing). Mix until everything is well combined and then increase your mixer speed. After about 3-5 minutes you should have stiff peaks. I mix in my coloring in smaller batches. I use Wilton food coloring because I think it gives you the most vibrant colors but you can certainly use regular food coloring as well.

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