Painted Ornament Cookies
2014-10-27 20:47:06
Yield: approximately 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1⁄2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1 recipe Royal Icing (recipe follows)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, beating on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes to combine. Add eggs, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla to butter mixture. Beat at medium speed to combine.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture, 1 cup at a time, beating on low speed to combine. Increase speed to medium-high, and beat until a soft dough forms, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Divide dough in half. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1⁄4-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes, rerolling dough only once if needed. Using the blunt end of a wooden skewer, make a hole in top of ornament for hanging, if desired.Place on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake until edges are lightly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Using the end of a wooden skewer, punch holes to be sure they have not closed up. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, and let cool completely.
- Paint cookies with Royal Icing as desired. Let dry.
Taste of the South https://tasteofthesouthmagazine.com/
Royal Icing
2014-10-27 20:54:37
Yield: 1 1⁄4 cups
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons cold water
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder*
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Gel food coloring in various colors
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat water and meringue powder with a wire whisk until frothy. Add confectioners’ sugar, whisking until smooth. Whisk in vanilla.
- Divide icing into smaller bowls, and add desired amount of food coloring. Cover icing until ready to use so that it doesn’t dry out.
Notes
- *Meringue powder is available in the cake-decorating section of craft stores.
Taste of the South https://tasteofthesouthmagazine.com/
Decorating Cookies:
- Have cooled cookies and Royal Icing in various colors ready before you begin. Using a small brush, paint a thin layer of desired base color on cookie.
- While base color is still wet, dot contrasting colors around cookie in desired pattern. Icing will spread, so place dots 1⁄8 to 1⁄4 inch apart.
- Pull the tip of a wooden pick or skewer through wet dots to make heart or chevron patterns. Add decorative sanding sugar or nonpareils to cookie while icing is still wet.
- To add solid lines, let cookies dry completely before painting lines on top of icing.
