Sometimes you just have to bake a batch of old-fashioned cut-out sugar cookies, don’t you? It was a busy Saturday around here, as they all are: an indoor soccer game, a guitar lesson, errands, play dates, oh, and getting ready for the holidays. But somehow, in the afternoon, I found the time to bake and decorate these, my favorite sugar cookies scented with just a hint of cardamom. Of course, it helped that I had made the dough the day before, as one does with a roll-and-cut cookie. All in all, it was a perfect holiday baking project. And because we are rather ecumenical around here, our holiday cookies come in Christmas and Hanukkah shapes.
This recipe comes from a Halloween cookie decorating kit from Williams-Sonoma that I bought before I had kids — before I was married even. It’s not a bad recipe, but it is a little timid, so I have pumped up the flavor by adding more vanilla and more cardamom. No one likes a boring cookie.
I was never much good at decorating cookies until I tried using a plastic squeeze bottle to pipe the designs. I’m still no expert, but I think my designs are at least passable. Squeeze bottles cost next to nothing and can be easily found at grocery stores or big box stores with a kitchenwares section. Despite their humble nature, squeeze bottles are one of those items that restaurant chefs name when asked for their secret weapon. Not liquid nitrogen. Not a Fry-o-later. Squeeze bottles. Once you buy some, you will find plenty of uses for them, not the least of which is piping royal icing onto cookies.
This recipe for royal icing makes an icing that gets very hard when it dries. If you want to cover a cookie completely with icing, I recommend piping an outline with the squeeze bottle and allowing the outline to dry. You can then fill in the icing on the rest of the cookie – which is called flooding — with a small knife or spatula. You can decorate your cookies further by dyeing the icing with food coloring or by adding sprinkles or colored sugar. My children like elaborately decorated cookies, but I prefer ones with plain white icing.
Royal icing does require egg whites and the icing is never cooked. If you are nervous about ingesting raw egg whites, I suggest buying pasteurized eggs, such as Davidson’s Safest Choice. Happy baking!
- 6 oz unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2¼ cups flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1 TB vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups powdered sugar
- 2 egg whites
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- To make the cookies, cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer until light and fluffy, about five minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom in a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter-sugar mixture and mix until well-combined.
- Gradually add the flour to the standing mixer, scraping down the sides as necessary. Continue to mix until the dough begins to come together in a ball.
- Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least three hours or overnight.
- To bake, preheat the oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat baking mats.
- Allow the dough to come to room temperature. Flour a board or pastry mat and a rolling pin.
- Roll the dough out to ¼ inch thickness, turning frequently and adding more flour as necessary to prevent sticking.
- Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Transfer the shapes to cookie sheets. (Be sure to gather the scraps of dough and roll them out again. If the dough gets too soft, pop it back in the refrigerator for a half-hour or so.)
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown.
- Cool cookies completely on wire racks prior to decorating.
- To make the icing, combine the powdered sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla in the bowl of a standing mixer and whip using the whisk attachment on high speed until glossy and the mixture holds stiff peaks.
- Transfer the icing to a squeeze bottle or piping bag to decorate the cookies. Allow icing to harden before putting cookies in tins or plastic containers.
