Sugar Cookies (w/ Royal Icing)

Ingredients:
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick/110g) butter
1 cups sugar
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method:
1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
2. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy.
3. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in flour mixture.
4. Divide dough into half, flatten each into a disk and wrap in plastic individually. Refrigerate until firm (at least 1 hour).
5. Preheat oven to 325°F/162°C. Let dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll (about 10 minutes).
6. Roll out dough to 1/4" thickness and cut out cookies into desired shapes.
7. Transfer cookie dough to a baking sheet, and freeze until very firm (about 30 minutes.
8. Bake until edges turn golden, 12-18 minutes. Switch positions of sheets halfway through.
9. Let cool on wire racks.


Makes about 1 dozen 4" cookies / 50-60 1" cookies


Royal Icing:
2 large egg whites
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3 cups (330 grams) icing sugar, sifted


1. Beat the egg whites with the lemon juice until foamy.
2. Add the sifted sugar and beat on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes).
3. Add colour as desired. Gel icing color is best as it does not add a significant amount of liquid.
4. Transfer to an air-tight container. Icing must be covered at all times when not in use so that it does not begin to harden.
5. To thin out icing, add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated. To thicken it, add more sifted sugar.

* The right consistency to cover cookies is when the ribbon of icing that falls back into the bowl remains on the surface for about 5 seconds before disappearing.

Makes about 3 cups