Sigh. I pretty much hate how these cookies turned out. For some reason the icing is lumpy and bumpy, the lines aren’t as straight as they should be, the black icing bled a little bit, etc. BUT WHATEVER. They’re just cookies, so I’m posting them anyway!
If you are a new to decorating with royal icing, here are some helpful tips and links:
- I used my grandma’s sugar cookie recipe, which is listed below. Another good cut-out cookie recipe can be found at Bridget’s wonderful Bake at 350.
- I used a royal icing recipe from Annie’s Eats, which is listed below.
- If you are new to decorating with royal icing, please visit this post by Annie’s Eats, which will teach you about outlining and flooding. Bake at 350 is also a great resource for cookie decorating and ideas (I love Bridget’s book, too!).
Here are the specifics on how I made these cookies:
- I used a scalloped-edge rectangular cookie cutter. Mine was part of a set that I bought years ago, I can’t remember where. But I’m sure you could find something similar on Amazon or another baking shop.
- You’ll need green, orange, and black food coloring. I used Wilton’s gel colorings in Leaf Green and Orange, and AmeriColor’s Super Black.
- I outlined the cookies with black icing first – using a small round pastry tip. Once the outlines set and dried, I flooded the cookies with green, white, and orange icing.
Omi’s Sugar Cookies
Print Recipe
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Beat butter and sugar. Add egg, sour cream, and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients gradually. Chill the batter overnight or for at least 4 hours. Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 350F until golden (in true fashion, my grandma didn’t give a specific baking time. I baked the cookies for about 8 minutes). The yield will depend on the size of your cookie cutter. I got about 3 dozen cookies out of this recipe.
White Royal Icing
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoons meringue powder
5 Tablespoons water
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes). Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container. This will be the stiffest consistency of the icing, and at this point it is still too stiff to use for decorating. Add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated. Continue until the icing has reached a consistency appropriate for piping.
Note: you may need to make more than one batch of this icing, depending on how many cookies you end up making.
