Snowflake Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing A Holiday Treat!
Experience the magic of the season with these stunning snowflake cookies that are as delightful to eat as they are to decorate! Perfect for parties and gifts!
Ingredients:
– cup 170g unsalted butter, softened
– 1 large egg
– 2 cups 350g all-purpose flour
– 1 cup 200g granulated sugar
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 tsp baking powder
– tsp salt
– tsp almond extract optional
– 4 cups 500g powdered sugar, sifted
– 3 tbsp meringue powder
– 68 tbsp water
– Gel food coloring in white, lavender, and blue
Instructions:
1. Start by preparing the cookie dough. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk well to ensure even distribution of ingredients.
2. In a separate large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar using an electric mixer. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy about 34 minutes.
3. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract if using to the butter mixture, mixing until everything is well combined.
4. Gradually add the dry flour mixture to the wet mixture, stirring until the dough begins to form. It should be cohesive and slightly sticky.
5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Chilling the dough allows it to firm up, making it easier to roll out later.
6. After chilling, preheat your oven to 350F 175C. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to about -inch thickness.
7. Use a snowflake-shaped cookie cutter or any shape you prefer to cut out cookies. Transfer the cut cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 810 minutes, or until the edges are only lightly golden. Once done, allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
9. For the royal icing, in a large bowl, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar and meringue powder. Gradually add water, mixing until the icing is smooth and thick.
10. If youd like to color the icing, divide it into separate bowls. Use gel food coloring to tint some icing white for the base, and others lavender and blue for design accents.
11. Use a piping bag with a fine tip to pipe the colored royal icing onto the cookies. You can create intricate snowflake designs or simply flood the cookies with a base layer and add decorative details using different colors.
12. Allow the royal icing to dry completely before handling the cookies to ensure that your designs remain intact.
Nutritional Information:
Each cookie based on 24 servings contains approximately:
– Calories: 120
– Total Fat: 5g
– Saturated Fat: 3g
– Cholesterol: 15mg
– Sodium: 15mg
– Total Carbohydrates: 18g
– Dietary Fiber: 0g
– Sugars: 9g
– Protein: 1g
Time: Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes Chilling time: 1 hour