How to Make Christmas Cookies with Royal Icing

Plain cookies and sweet icing make a delectable holiday dessert.

Imagine your kitchen filled with the scent of cookies in the oven. It's no secret why baking batches of Christmas cookies is an annual tradition in some homes. You do not need to be an experienced baker to make your own Christmas cookies with icing. Whether you have been baking for years or never set foot in the kitchen, try your hand at making simple sugar cookies with royal icing.

Things You'll Need

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• Ice water
• Plastic wrap
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Rolling pin
• Cookie cutters
• Baker's cooling rack
• 1 egg white
• Food coloring
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Whisk

Instructions

1. Mix 1 cup of all-purpose flour with 1/4 cup vegetable shortening and 1/4 cup butter, using your fingers to break up the fats into the flour until pea-sized rounds of flour-coated fat are left.

2. Mix one lightly beaten egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 cup granulated sugar into the flour and fat mixture.

3. Add ice water by tablespoonfuls to the cookie mixture until a soft dough forms.

4. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and wrap it in plastic wrap.

5. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least two hours.

6. Preheat the oven to 325 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

7. Lightly dust a clean, flat work surface with flour.

8. Unwrap the cookie dough and roll it with a rolling pin to 1/8-inch thickness.

9. Press cookie cutters into the dough and transfer the shapes to the parchment paper-lined baking sheet with at least 1 inch of space on all sides of the cookies.

10. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes or until they begin to brown lightly around the edges.

11. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool them to room temperature.

12. Whisk together one egg white, a few drops of food coloring and 2 cups of powdered sugar until a thick icing forms.

13. Spread the royal icing on the cooled sugar cookies with the back of a spoon or a spreader.
    Set aside the cookies for one hour to overnight for the royal icing to harden before packaging the cookies.

Tips & Warnings

• Use refrigerated sugar cookie dough instead of making the dough from scratch to save time.

• Turn the sugar cookies into spice cookies by replacing the white sugar with an equal amount of packed dark brown sugar and adding 2 teaspoons of ground pumpkin pie spice mix.

• Do not substitute wax paper or aluminum foil for parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper used for baking, found in stores near the aluminum foil. Liberally grease a baking sheet with butter if you cannot find parchment paper.

References

• The Christmas Cookie Cookbook: All the Rules and Delicious Recipes to Start Your Own Holiday Cookie Club; Ann Pearlman and Mary Beth Bayer
• Fabulous Cake Decorating: Step-by-Step Instruction for Beautiful Results; Eaglemoss Publications Ltd
• Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook; Betty Crocker