Description
Bright and fun summer sugar cookies decorated with royal icing, perfect for special occasions.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- Zest of one lemon (optional)
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (for royal icing)
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder or 2 pasteurized egg whites
- 6 to 8 tablespoons warm water
- Gel food colors in summer shades
- Sprinkles, sanding sugar, or edible glitter for accents
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract until smooth.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the dry mix to the wet mix and stir until the dough forms.
- Divide the dough, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment.
- Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured board.
- Cut shapes and place them two inches apart on the sheet.
- Bake small cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, larger ones for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Let cookies cool on the sheet for 2 minutes, then move to a rack to cool fully.
- Make royal icing by beating powdered sugar, meringue powder, and water until glossy.
- Thin a small bowl of icing to flood consistency.
- Fill piping bags and outline each cookie with thicker icing.
- Flood the center with thinned icing and use a toothpick to spread it.
- Let the base icing set for 20 minutes before adding details.
- Add sprinkles while icing is still tacky.
- Let all decorated cookies dry flat for at least 4 hours before stacking.
Notes
Chill the dough to keep cookie shapes and roll consistently for even baking.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 70mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
Keywords: sugar cookies, royal icing, summer cookies, cookie decorating, festive cookies