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Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing
Recipes
Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing
36 servings
3 hours total (Active 30 minutes)

Ingredients

    • For cookies
    • 1 cup unsalted butter
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 tablespoon whole milk
    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
    • Plastic wrap
    • Cooking spray
    • Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough
    • For icing
    • 3 cups powdered sugar
    • ¼ cup pasteurized liquid egg whites
    • 2 teaspoons lemon juice

    Steps

      1. Prepare cookies. Set butter out to soften. Place butter and sugar in large bowl; beat with electric mixer on HIGH until light in color. Add egg and milk; beat until well blended.
      2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; add gradually to butter mixture, stirring with mixer on LOW, until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Divide dough in half and wrap with plastic wrap; chill 2 hours.
      3. Preheat oven to 375°F; coat baking sheets with spray. Sprinkle work surface with powdered sugar. Remove one-half dough from refrigerator at a time. Sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar and roll out dough to ¼-inch thickness. Move dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking.
      4. Cut dough with cookie cutters; arrange cookies at least 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake 7–9 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through bake time, until edges of cookies are golden. Cool 2 minutes on sheets, then move to wire racks to cool completely before decorating. Store in airtight container up to 1 week. Makes 36 (3-inch) cookies.
      5. Prepare icing. Sift powdered sugar. Place egg whites and lemon juice in large bowl; stir with electric mixer on LOW until blended. Add powdered sugar; beat until blended and smooth.
      6. Determine best consistency for covering cookies by placing small amount of icing in center of cookie. Use small knife to push icing to edge of cookie. Add powdered sugar a little at a time if icing is too thin; add water a little at a time if icing is too thick.
      Note: Use icing immediately or transfer to airtight container, as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover icing with plastic wrap when not in use. Makes enough icing for 36 cookies.

    Amount per 1 / 36 recipe serving: Calories 140, Total Fat 5g, Sat Fat 3g, Trans Fat 0g, Chol 20mg, Sodium 20mg, Total Carb 22g, Fiber 0g, Total Sugar 14g, (Incl. 14g Added Sugars), Protein 1g, Vitamin D 0%, Calc 0%, Iron 6%, Potassium 0%