Thanksgiving Cookies

I've seen so many beautifully decorated sugar cookies on other blogs using royal icing and I really wanted to try making some myself. I'm taking the Wilton 2 Cake Course right now and we had to make royal icing for class this week and last week so I had plenty of the stuff around so I decided to make fall-inspired cookies to give out at Thanksgiving.

I used the sugar cookie recipe from Annie's Eats and the Wilton royal icing recipe. The sugar cookies don't really rise or spread so you can make true shapes and have a relatively smooth, flat decorating surface.

Sugar Cookies

Adapted from Annie's Eats

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

Cream the butter on medium speed for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat about 1 minute more. Add egg and extracts and beat about 1 more minute until fully incorporated. Add salt and flour and beat until just incorporated. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap and turn dough out onto the plastic wrap, mold dough into a rounded disc and cover tightly. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Sprinkle powdered sugar on clean countertop and on rolling pin. Roll out 1/3 of the dough at a time to 1/4 - 1/2" thick. Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shape and re-roll scraps as necessary. Continue to refrigerate unrolled dough while baking cookies if necessary. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, cookies should not brown. Yields about 36 cookies depending on size and thickness.

Royal Icing

Recipe from Wilton

1 lb. powdered sugar

3 T meringue powder

5 1/2 T lukewarm water

Mix all ingredients on low for about 8 minutes, cover mixing bowl with a damp towel to keep icing from drying out. Transfer icing to a small bowl for each desired color. I recommend you use gel food colorings so the color doesn't affect the consistency of the icing. This recipe yields about 3 cups of icing. Use regular strength icing to outline cookies. Let the outline dry for at least 1 hour and then flood the insides. Add water to desired color until the icing pours off a spoon and blends back into the bowl. If you add too much water, just add more powdered sugar until you reach the right consistency. Put thinned icing in a small ziploc and snip off a corner. Fill cookies and use a toothpick or small paint brush to fill in any gaps. Let dry at least 1 hour and add detail with outlining icing as desired.