Royal Icing Christmas Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (227 g)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
• 1 large egg (50 g)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (10 g)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (360 g)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (4 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt (3 g)
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar (480 g)
• 3 tablespoons meringue powder (24 g)
• 6 tablespoons warm water (90 g)
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract (5 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon gel food coloring (2 g)

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar. Beat butter and sugar on medium speed for two minutes, until smooth and lightly creamy. Add egg and vanilla, then beat just until combined. Scrape bowl and beater thoroughly so no butter streaks remain.
2. Finish and chill dough. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients on low speed just until dough forms and no floury patches remain. Divide dough into two disks, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for one hour.
3. Roll and cut. Heat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment. Roll one chilled disk between parchment sheets to one-quarter-inch thick. Cut shapes, transfer to sheets, and chill the cut cookies for ten minutes.
4. Bake cookies. Bake one tray at a time for nine to eleven minutes, until tops look dry and edges are barely golden. Rest cookies on sheets five minutes, then transfer to a rack and cool completely.
5. Make icing. Beat confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, warm water, and clear vanilla on medium speed until glossy and thick. Divide icing among bowls, tint as desired, and cover bowls with a damp towel.
6. Decorate and dry. Pipe thick icing around each cookie edge. Thin flood icing with water, adding drops gradually, then fill inside borders. Add wet-on-wet details promptly and leave cookies uncovered until completely firm, at least eight hours.

Notes

• For flood consistency, let a ribbon of icing disappear into the bowl within ten to fifteen seconds; thin it only with drops of water.
• Keep dough at one-quarter-inch thickness for sturdy, flat cookies. Thinner cookies brown quickly and may not support detailed icing cleanly.
• This icing covers simple flooding; detailed flowers, several colors, or raised borders may require an extra half batch.