Christmas Sugar Cookies with Easy Icing
Cut-out cookies that hold their shape, taste of butter and vanilla (and, if you like, a whisper of almond), and take decorating well. The icing is a simple confectioners’-sugar glaze — no meringue powder, no egg whites — that dries hard and glossy in a day. Budget the time: the dough chills, the baked cookies cool fully, and the icing needs 24 hours to set completely, though they can be eaten long before that.
- Serves
- 24 three-inch cookies and 1½ cups icing
- Yield
- 24 cookies
- Prep
- 2 hr
- Cook
- 12 min
- Total
- 2 hr 10 min
- Cuisine
- American
- Level
- Intermediate
Directions
-
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a handheld or stand mixer on high until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract (if using) and beat on high until combined, about 1 minute, scraping the bowl as needed.
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Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined. The dough will be a bit soft; if it is too sticky to roll, work in 1 more tablespoon of flour.
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Divide the dough in half. Roll each half out on a lightly floured sheet of parchment or a silicone mat to an even ¼-inch thickness, flouring the pin as needed. The shape doesn't matter, only the thickness.
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Dust one rolled sheet lightly with flour, lay parchment over it, and stack the second on top. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate at least 1 to 2 hours and up to 2 days.
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Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line 2 or 3 large baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Working with one chilled sheet of dough at a time (run a hand underneath if it sticks), cut shapes with cookie cutters, then gather and re-roll the scraps and keep cutting until the dough is used. Repeat with the second sheet — the scraps yield more cookies than you'd expect.
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Arrange the cookies about 3 inches apart and bake 11 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned at the edges, rotating the sheets halfway if your oven has hot spots. Cool on the sheet 5 minutes, then on a wire rack until completely cool.
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Make the icing: stir the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, salt and 4½ tablespoons of the water together with a fork; it will be very thick. Switch to a whisk and whisk in another ½ tablespoon of water. The icing is right when a ribbon drizzled from the whisk holds its shape for a few seconds before melting back in; if it is still too thick, whisk in another ½ tablespoon of water or a little more.
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To tint, divide the icing among bowls and stir in gel coloring 1 to 2 drops at a time — the color darkens as it dries.
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Decorate by dipping the cookies or piping with squeeze bottles or piping bags fitted with a small round tip (Wilton #4): outline first, then flood the middle. Add sprinkles right after icing, while it is wet.
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Let the icing set — it dries fully in 24 hours, uncovered. Decorating on a baking sheet lets you slide the whole tray into the refrigerator to speed things up a little. Once dry, the cookies stack and ship well.
Shawnie’s notes
Store decorated cookies covered up to 5 days at room temperature or 10 days refrigerated. Plain or decorated cookies freeze up to 3 months once the icing is fully set (layer with parchment). The dough also freezes up to 3 months: make it through step 3, flatten into two discs, wrap and freeze; thaw in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature for an hour, roll, then chill the rolled dough 45 minutes to 1 hour before cutting. Icing keeps, covered, 2 days in the refrigerator — bring to room temperature and thin with a few drops of water. Room-temperature butter should still feel cool; dough that is too sticky usually means butter that was too soft. For a different flavor, swap the almond extract for 1 teaspoon of maple, coconut, lemon or peppermint extract, or 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon; with lemon extract, add 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. The corn syrup gives the dried icing its sheen and the pinch of salt offsets the sweetness; the icing recipe can be halved.
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
