Sugar cookies are a popular treat at this time of year, and they are fun to decorate (recipe from Heather Smythe).
Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups pastry flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped or 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, mix butter and sugar until creamy, add egg and vanilla, mix until well incorporated. Add dry ingredients and mix until dough comes together. Divide the dough into quarters and wrap in plastic refrigerate until firm enough to roll.
Royal Icing
Ingredients
3 tbsp meringue powder
4 cups icing sugar
5 tbsp warm water
Instructions
Sift meringue powder and icing sugar together in bowl of mixer with whisk attachment.
Slowly add four tablespoons of warm water, adding more as necessary to achieve desired consistency.
tips for icing cookies with royal icing
Keep icing covered with plastic when not using as it dries out quickly.
Use paste food colouring to tint your royal icing without thinning it and to create more vibrant colours than liquid colour.
Use thicker icing for piping and outlining, and thin with small amounts of water for flooding.
Fill disposable piping bags with icing and tie end of bag with elastic band for easy and clean piping.
Once decorated, allow to dry for 10 to 24 hours to set icing.
Heather Smythe is a North Shore resident and trained chef with a specialty in pastry. She worked as a film caterer for 15 years, and now owns a pop-up store on Gallant Avenue in Deep Cove for December called Provisions12, a Preserves and Essentials company, with classes running until Christmas.
