Mother’s Day Sugar Cookies

Mother’s Day Sugar Cookies

I don’t need much of an excuse to make sugar cookies, so when Mother’s Day rolled around, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to whip up a batch of cookies.  I used crinkle cut square cookie cutters along with my favorite sugar cookie recipe, and then decorated the cookies with royal icing.  I wanted the icing colors to be fitting for the occasion, so I made yellow, purple, and white icing.  And I knew we would be having other desserts too, so I packaged up some of the cookies in little plastic treat bags, and placed a cookie at each place setting.  This way, my guests could take them home as favors, and the cookies also served as table decorations.  Enjoy!

Sugar Cookies

(print recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 ½ tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 ½ cups sifted flour

Directions

1. Cream the butter and powdered sugar.
2. Blend in egg, almond extract, vanilla extract, salt and flour.
3. Chill dough until firm.
4. Roll to ¼” thickness on a well-floured surface.
5. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on greased cookie sheets, and bake at 375° for 8-10 min. The cookies should not brown.
6. Frost and decorate when cool.

Yields: 3-4 dozen cookies, depending on size (Recipe can be doubled)

Recipe from: Annie’s-Eats blog

Royal Icing

(print recipe)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons meringue powder
• 4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 5-6 tablespoons water
• ½ teaspoon almond extract

Directions

1. Beat all ingredients at low speed for 7 to 10 minutes, or until icing forms peaks.

Tips:

• Icing recipe can be doubled.  I recommend doubling it if you double the cookie recipe and/or if you are using more than 2 colors of icing.  It’s always better to have a little extra, than to run out.
• Keep icing covered with a wet kitchen towel (or wet paper towels) at all times, as icing can dry out quickly.
• Click on this link for a good tutorial on how to decorate cookies with royal icing.
• Have fun!

Royal Icing Recipe Adapted from: All Recipes

For the cookies, I used the largest cookie cutter as well as the medium sized one. (Photo from www.surlatable.com)

Other sugar cookies:

• Butterflies
• Easter eggs, carrots, bunnies, ducks, & flowers
• Fruits & Birthday cookies
• Valentine’s Day hearts
• Christmas cookies