Saturday, January 10, 2009

Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing


I made these cookies to give out at the hospital when Harper was born

Sugar Cookies:

3 1/2 cups (460 grams) all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon (4 grams) baking powder

1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:

2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted


For Sugar Cookies: In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.

Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch (1 cm). (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.) Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking.

Note: If you are not going to frost the baked cookies, you may want to sprinkle the unbaked cookies with crystal or sparkling sugar.

Bake cookies for about 10 minutes (depending on size) or until they are brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Frost with royal icing, if desired. Be sure to let the royal icing dry completely before storing. (This may take several hours.)

Frosted cookies will keep several days in an airtight container. Store between layers of parchment paper or wax paper.

Makes about 36 - 4 inch (10 cm) cookies.

For Royal Icing with Egg Whites: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

I used the color gels from Wilton that you can get from Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby to color the icing. Just a small little dab will color it plenty.


15 comments:

Sarah Jean said...

We also had cookies at the hospital for the many visitors we had when our son, (We didn't know what we were having until he debuted!) Sawyer, arrived. It was so fun to give a little something to everyone that came to share their love and support with us. Many blessings on your motherhood journey. It is a gift like no other.

Jessie Weaver said...

Wow, I'm impressed! My DH bought pumpkin Krispy Kremes to share when we were in the hospital since it was almost Halloween. :)

Kim said...

Hi Kelly! LOVE this blog. Such great recipes. Thank yoU!!!! Praying for you as you near Harper's arrival...

Tales of a Peanut said...

Kelly, you are way too creative! Now I have to hand make cookies to take to the hospital with me! :) Good luck this week with Harper. I'm praying for y'all!

alyssa said...

Kelly, I stumbled upon your blog yesterday & you are just the sweetest & cutest! It was even better to find that you have this blog to share the yummy recipes! Great idea! I hope you have a restful day today! Oh, I live here in B'ville too : )

Anonymous said...

I made these with patriotic colored icing! They were SO yummy! Thanks for the recipe. (I emailed you a picture)

Lauren Bowen

Anonymous said...

Kelly,
I absolutely love both of your blogs. I have just started doing a recipe of the week for our family so I'll stop by your blog for inspiration and post them on our blog. I am praying for Harper and your family this very moment! I admire your strength and faith in God! Your daughter is so lucky to have you as her MOM!!

capperson said...

I totally just subscribed to your blog because you got some really good recipes and i love to cook. lol
i will be trying pretty much all of these pretty soon. lol

Tara said...

Girlfriend! Your blogs rock! I've been keeping daily track of sweet Harper's progress and praying continually for ya'll. I looked at this blog and OH MY WORD! I'm in heaven! THANK YOU for these awesome recipes! I'm so trying all of them! :) Bunco Buns are exactly what I'm making for our Sunday School class Bunco night! Whoohoo! Blessings!!!

Tara said...

Oh and my mom told me I need to have another child just so she can make pretzels and cookies like yours! haha!

Courtney, Jeff, Ayla & Leah said...

Did you make them ahead and then freeze them? I am due in late April, but my first came 4 weeks early. Now I am thinking I may do something like this, but want to do it early and freeze them (if possible) in case this lil girl has a plan on her own like her sis. Ps. SOO glad Harper is finally coming home! YAy!

Anonymous said...

You are so cute, sweet, and creative. God has really used you as an encouragement to me. I am so glad Harper is okay!!!

Sheridan said...

Hi Kelly! Those cookies are too cute! I also have a cooking blog, feel free to look at it!

www.sheridanskornerrecipes.blogspot.com

Oh, yes I stole your awesome "korner recipes" name, but it was so awesome!

Southern said...

I'm totally going to have to copy you & make these when we have our next baby(ies). Not only to give out as 'nifty-gifties' but to have something yummy to snack on! Hospital food = yuck ;p

All About the Armes' said...

These are so yummy & cute! I made them this past weekend for my church ladies' get-together in Gatlinburg, TN. They were such a hit! For the monogram, I did wMu because we were at a statewide WMU conference. Thanks for the idea! :o)