Snowflake cookies
I am a beginner when it comes to baking and icing cookies. I really admire people who can perfectly ice a cookie, because I know it is not easy at all. This was my second time I tried icing cookies, it was so much fun and the cookies looked good. I definitely need some practice but for my second attempt I think they are quite decent.
I used royal icing and a blue gel food coloring. The recipe for the royal icing and the sugar cookies is from "The sweet adventures of Sugar Belle". (If you are interested in icing cookies and cookies in general I recommend that you visit the mentioned web page.) I made the same cookie dough for my Linzer cookies and since the recipe yields a lot of cookie dough, I used one half for the Linzer cookies and the other for snowflake cookies.
When you ice the cookies, it is best that they are a day old so that they are completely dry. I usually bake the cookies one or two days in advance and store them in the airtight container.
The royal icing is simple to make, the only difficult thing is figuring out the right consistency. For the base of the cookie the consistency must be a little more runny than the consistency of icing that you use for piping on the details. Once you figure out how the icing is supposed to look like the fun can begin.
While the dough is resting prepare your rolling pin, flour for dusting, cookie cutters and parchment paper. Take 1/4 of the prepared dough, place it on the parchment and form it into a flat disc. Sprinkle the dough with some flour and roll it out to about 0,6 cm (0,25 inches) thickness. After the dough is rolled, cut out the desired shapes (put some flour on the cookie cutters), as closely together as possible. Add the scraps back to the dough and continue doing this until all of the dough has been used.
When the cookies are cut use an offset spatula to transfer them to a parchment lined baking tray.
I used royal icing and a blue gel food coloring. The recipe for the royal icing and the sugar cookies is from "The sweet adventures of Sugar Belle". (If you are interested in icing cookies and cookies in general I recommend that you visit the mentioned web page.) I made the same cookie dough for my Linzer cookies and since the recipe yields a lot of cookie dough, I used one half for the Linzer cookies and the other for snowflake cookies.
When you ice the cookies, it is best that they are a day old so that they are completely dry. I usually bake the cookies one or two days in advance and store them in the airtight container.
The royal icing is simple to make, the only difficult thing is figuring out the right consistency. For the base of the cookie the consistency must be a little more runny than the consistency of icing that you use for piping on the details. Once you figure out how the icing is supposed to look like the fun can begin.
Snowflake cookies
(Makes about 60)
Time:
Preparation: 1 hour
Baking: 7-8 min
For the cookie:
- 227g room temperature butter
- 175g icing sugar
- 1 room temperature egg
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 400-425g plain flour
- 360g icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons meringue powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or other)
- 72ml warm water
Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and set aside. Put butter and icing sugar in the bowl of your electric or hand mixer and mix until pale and fluffy. add the egg and vanilla and mix. While mixing, slowly add the flour mixture little by little until a dough is formed. When the dough is mixed it will be a little soft but it will firm up as it rests so set it aside for 5 minutes (not in the fridge).
While the dough is resting prepare your rolling pin, flour for dusting, cookie cutters and parchment paper. Take 1/4 of the prepared dough, place it on the parchment and form it into a flat disc. Sprinkle the dough with some flour and roll it out to about 0,6 cm (0,25 inches) thickness. After the dough is rolled, cut out the desired shapes (put some flour on the cookie cutters), as closely together as possible. Add the scraps back to the dough and continue doing this until all of the dough has been used.
Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 200°C (400°F) for 7-8 minutes (they may seem under-baked but they will bake through while resting). Take the cookies out of the oven and, because the cookies will be a bit fragile, let them cool on a baking tray for at least 30 minutes.
Icing the cookies:
Stir the vanilla extract into half the water. Using the paddle attachment, gently mix together sugar and meringue powder. With the mixer on slow speed add the water/vanilla mixture , the icing will become thick and lumpy. Continue adding the rest of the water until the mixture reaches thick consistency (like honey). Turn the mixer to medium speed and beat for 2-4 minutes or until the icing is thick and fluffy.Watch carefully and stop the mixer when the icing forms soft peak.
Divide the icing into 3 bowls. In the first bowl put the desired amount of the blue food coloring and mix. If the icing is too stiff add some water (be careful not to add to much water). Mix and keep adding water until you have "flooding" consistency.
In the second bowl, thin out the white icing until you have "flooding" consistency. In the third bowl thin the white icing to "piping" consistency (more information at coloring and preparing royal icing ).
After you have all the icings prepared you can start icing cookies any way you like.
Let them dry out at room temperature for 3-4 hours or until dry to the touch.
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