sugar cookie recipe |
after trying over 50 sugar cookie recipes, i found this one to be my absolute favorite. i love this basic sugar cookie recipe for many reasons. it taste great. it is simple with few ingredients. it will maintain it's shape which makes the dough ideal for molding. you must chill the dough for a couple hours (or overnight is great) or it will be very sticky to work with. |
1 cup butter, softened |
1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened |
3/4 cup sugar |
1 egg |
1 teaspoon vanilla |
3 cups all purpose flour |
in large mixer bowl combine all cookie ingredients, except flour. |
beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until creamy. |
reduce speed to low; add flour. beat, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. |
divide dough into 2 equal portions; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate unitl firm (at least 2 hours). |
heat oven to 350°. roll out on lightly floured surface or parchment paper. bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. remove from cookie sheets; cool completely. |
url: cookiedecorating.com |
chocolate cut-out recipe |
yummy! crisp chocolate cut-outs with a brownie-cookie type flavor. this dough should be chilled for an hour or two (or overnight) or it may be sticky to roll. |
1/2 cup butter |
3/4 cup sugar |
1 egg |
1 teaspoon vanilla |
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour |
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa |
1/2 teaspoon baking powder |
1/2 teaspoon baking soda |
1/4 teaspoon salt |
in large mixer bowl beat butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until well blended. in medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture and blend well. |
refrigerate dough about 1 hour or until firm enough to roll. |
preheat oven to 325°. on lightly floured surface or parchment paper, roll out dough. bake 5 to 7 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched. |
remove from cookie sheets; cool completely. |
url: cookiedecorating.com |
run sugar |
run sugar icing is the classic cookie icing. it is a smooth textured icing that forms a very hard crust. it is made by taking royal icing at it's fluffiest form and adding water to make it flow. when it dries, you can stack the cookies. this type of icing takes several hours to dry. the icing has a simple, flavor with some crunch. |
8 cups powdered sugar |
4 tablespoons meringue powder |
1 tablespoon gum arabic |
1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter |
2/3 cup water |
additional water |
food color |
first, mix-up royal icing (use this recipe or follow instructions on the commercial royal icing) |
in small mixing bowl, combine water, meringue powder and cream of tarter. |
beat until stiff peaks form. |
in separate bowl, combine powdered sugar and gum arabic. mix thouroughly, then add to meringue. |
beat on low, then medium speed until stiff peaks form. after the royal icing has been mixed |
divide the mixture into several small containers and cover with wet towel. add a small amount of water to each batch until it us just barely fluid, not watery. test consistency by dropping a small amount from spoon onto waxed paper. it should smooth itself in about 10 seconds. if it runs too much, add more powdered sugar. if it is too thick, add a bit more water. |
remember: keep this icing covered when you are not using it. it dries out quickly. place the icing in a bag with a tip #3 or #4. outline the area to be covered. quickly fill in the outline. if the icing is running off the cookie, too much water was added to the royal icing. if the icing is not smooth, add a bit more water to the royal icing. when icing crusts, pipe adjoining color. for added dimension or outlining, allow icing to harden (several minutes) and pipe on the top. |
royal icing |
is probably the most popular icing that cookie decorators use. it is preferable because it holds up very well if the cookies need to be stacked, shipped, stored, etc.. royal icing can be made into a very nice glaze and also works great for very fine detail work. the biggest problem with royal icing is that it dries hard as a rock, and also tends to dry out the cookies more than a buttercream icing would. the drying rock-hard isn't a big deal if you are doing a cookie that has a thin layer of glaze and some basic outlines or decorations, but if you need a cookie to have thick piping, the thick decorations would almost be impossible to eat in royal icing. |
ingredients |
3 t. meringue powder |
4 cups (1 pound) powdered sugar |
6 t. water |
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (use clear vanilla if you want a pure white icing) |
1/4 tsp. almond extract |
beat all ingredients together until stiff peaks form (about 10 minutes). to vary the consistency, add water to thin and add powdered sugar to thicken. |
