Decorative Sugar Cookie and Icing Recipes
Cookie decorating ideas can be found
everywhere, from architectural magazines to fashion magazines. Let your
imagination run and have fun. Take your time and be patient.
Cream Together In Main Mixing Bowl:
- 2 cups butter - room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
Add To Butter Mixture:
- Two whole eggs
- 2 tsp. Vanilla bean paste (real vanilla extract will
work if you don't have paste)
Mix thoroughly until all ingredients
combined, scrape the bowl of your electric mixer often to clean sides.
In A Separate Bowl Sift
Together:
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 51/2 - 6 cups of flour
Add flour mixture to butter mixture
a cup at a time and mix each cup thoroughly.
Roll out the dough and cut cookies.
If it is warm in your house, you can put the rolled out cookie dough in the
refrigerator for 10 minutes before cutting cookies.
Cut out cookies and refrigerate or
freeze the cutout cookie dough for 15-30 minutes. This keeps the cookies in
shape during baking.
Royal Icing Recipe For Cookie
Base
Royal Icing does not contain
any dairy. It is not the same kind of icing as is used to cover a cake. Royal
icing glaze is a little runny but it hardens when cooled, making it an excellent choice for
decorated cookies and gingerbread houses.
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp almond or lemon extract (I prefer Nielsen-Massey
extracts)
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (if you don't have this, don't
worry)
- 2-3 tsp of water as needed. The icing should be thick
enough to hold it's shape when piped on.
Mix with an electric hand or stand
mixer. Be careful not to over beat Royal Icing; you do not want to whip too
much air into it. High speed until ingredients are mixed and then low speed for
a few minutes more until you achieve beautiful soft peaks on the beater.
If it is too runny, add more powdered sugar in small portions at a time until
the icing thickens.
Royal Icing for Decorating Cookies
(can be made a day in advance)
2 cups powdered sugar
5 tbsp meringue powder
1/3 cup water
Add all ingredients and beat with an
electric mixer until firm. Be patient; it will take about 15 minutes to reach
proper consistency.
Divide into separate bowls to add
color and then transfer to plastic bottles or piping bags, cover tips, and set
aside.
Plan Ahead:
Make sure you have all of your
supplies ahead of time. Depending on your cookie project, you may not need all
of these tools.
- Plastic Squeeze Bottles or
Piping Bags
- Gel Food Coloring (for best
color)
- Luster Dust
- Edible Glitter
- Wax Paper
- Artist Brushes
- Toothpicks or Scriber
Needle
- Cookie Cutters
- Baking Pans
- Cooling Racks
- Storage Containers
- Small Bottle of Clear Corn
Syrup (to adhere dragees, glitter, and colored sugars)
- Premade Royal Icing
decorations (many available)
Cookie Decorating Resources:
- Michaels
- Country Kitchen Sweet Art
- Amazon
Alternative Cookie Decorating Idea -
Use Fondant.
Make and bake cookies just as you
would for royal icing decorating
Make Royal Icing for Base Coat
Make Royal Icing for
Decorating
My favorite fondant is Satin
Ice. It tastes good and is easy to manage.
Once cookies are cooled, using a
paintbrush or spatula, cover the face of the cookie with Royal Icing. Roll and
cut out fondant with the same cookie-cutter used for cookie design.
TIP: Before lifting the cutout fondant from the paper, put
it in the refrigerator for a few minutes.
This process keeps the fondant
overlay from stretching when you lift it to place on the cookie.
Lift the cutout fondant and overlay
on the cookie just after applying fresh royal icing. The icing should still be
wet.
The fondant may be a little tacky
from condensation, try not to handle or touch the surface of the fondant
overlay until it dries. Use a spatula to lift the fondant onto the surface of
the cookie.
Snowflake Shaped Sugar Cookies
overlayed with fondant and dusted with edible glitter. Moose shaped cookies for
a bachelor party. Chocolate Fondant overlay.