Yay! Finals are done! Time for me to bake all I want… So you can expect a lot of posts for the next three weeks. I have a lot on my agenda.. from buying Christmas gifts for everyone to catching up on my much needed SLEEP! I’ve been sick for the past week. I came home from LA and my mom greeted me with “You’re sick, huh? You look like a dead person. I can tell.” Haha, Thanks, Mom. And the next morning, she said to me after hearing me cough, “You’re going to get water in your lungs and die from pneumonia! Wear a jacket. And pants. You sound like an old man. I’m going to go buy you medicine so you can sleep at night and stop coughing.” She’s so mother-ly, overexaggerating everything and worried all the time. I love her.
I’ve been obsessed with looking at puppies lately. I want one soooo bad. Preferably a german shepherd or a siberian husky. Ahhhhhh they’re so cute. Anyways, back to the cookies…
Day 4 of my 12 Days of Cookies: No fail-sugar cookies. So I knocked down two birds with one stone on day 4 of my cookies. I’m going to my boyfriend’s cousin’s engagement party tonight and baked this for the newly engaged couple (hence the bride & groom cookies). Now, I’ve NEVER had any luck with baking sugar cookies simply because they either turn out flat, lose their shape, taste terribly, or are too crumbly. I discovered this recipe a couple of years ago and I haven’t used another one since. I mean, look at the name of the cookie: No-fail sugar cookies! How can you go wrong with that? This dough stands up to the most complex cookie cutters and always come out perfect. I made them a little thicker than normal so that they would be sturdy enough to stand on a cookie stick for my bouquet. I also halved this recipe because I didn’t need that many cookies. After they were cooled, I decorated them however I wanted.
I haven’t had a lot of experience with piping frosting, so don’t be too harsh! This is actually the first time I’ve piped with royal icing. This royal icing is very forgiving and can be stiff or thin, depending on what you want to do with it. Either add more powdered sugar for a stiffer icing to pipe, or add more water to make it into a thinner consistency to fill in cookies. I halved this recipe as well, and still have a ton leftover.
I used my heart cookie cutter from my Crate & Barrel set I got for Christmas last year from one of my cousins that can be found HERE. It has a cookie cutters that will last you throughout the year.. one for each month! How cute is that!? And it even comes in a cute container, that could be used for cookie storing.
Ingredients
- 6 cups flour
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 2 cups butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring
- 1 tsp. salt
Directions:
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.
Chill for 1 to 2 hours
Roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350
degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges. This recipe
can make up to 5-dozen 3” cookies.
For the Royal Icing:
6 oz (3/4 cup) of warm water
5 Tablespoons meringue powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 kilogram (2.25 lbs.) powdered icing sugar
In mixer bowl, pour in the warm water and the meringue powder. Mix it with a whisk by hand until it is frothy and thickened…about 30 seconds.
Add the cream of tartar and mix for 30 seconds more.
Pour in all the icing sugar at once and place the bowl on the mixer.
Using the paddle attachment on the LOWEST speed, mix slowly for a full 10 minutes. Icing will get thick and creamy.
Cover the bowl with a dampened tea-towel to prevent crusting and drying.
Tint with food colourings or thin the icing with small amounts of warm water to reach the desired consistency.
Ok, I have to add a picture of the love of my life at the moment. I bought myself a little Christmas present and am SO excited! It’s Wilton’s 56 Piece Tip Set. I can pipe all sorts of things now! 🙂
these are darling! love the b&w ball look~
Hi Kim!
Iwas a cake decorator for many years, and want to tell you that you are extreemly talented!
Can not wait to here that you’ve opened your own bakery!
best wishes,
Robyn
What beautiful cookies and creative designs.
Well you would NEVER know that you haven’t decorated much, these are gorgeous! The bride and groom cookies are phenomenal 🙂
BTW, I made a recipe from your blog today. In fact I went overboard and made 4 different types of cookies. I am exhausted and trying to recuperate. LOL I did make the Outrageous Chocolate Cookies and they are awesome! I agree about the semisweet chocolate, I like them, but next time I think I will try with milk chocolate to see how they taste 🙂
I’ll link to you when I post them 🙂
Adorable cookies!!
These look great! Congrats on finishing your finals! You will soooo miss the winter break when you get a job…:)
Have you ever made these without chilling the dough? I am going to make some with my first grade class on Friday. I want to make sugar cookies because they are so much fun to decorate but I need to bake them while they are at recess so I wouldn’t have time to let the dough chill before they take the cookie cutters to them. Any other plans besides acting like a cooking show and having them mix the dough then switching it out with dough I made the night before?
How did you insert the stick?
I wanna make the cake for my friend’s christmas presents but I don’t know whether to insert the stick and bake it together with the cookie or insert after the cookie is baked. 🙂
I have GOT to say, your little heart bride and groom cookies are sooooo cuuuute!!!
once in a blue moon: Thanks!
RJ: thank you so much! it means a lot coming from a prior cake decorator themselves. 🙂
gaga: thank you!
amanda:thanks for sharing! it’s always great being able to hear everyone else’s feedback when they try a recipe. keep on baking! 🙂
leslie: thanks!
the food librarian: thank you! I’m sure i’ll miss the three weeks of freedom after college ends. lol
christina: i’ve never tried without chilling the dough. I think if you don’t chill it, it doesn’t have quite enough time
vanessa- you insert the stick into the cookie dough after you’ve cut it out and before you bake it. hope that helps!
ivy: thanks!
omg! where do you usually buy your ingredients?
oh my!! ur cookies are so lovely! and ur 56 piece set is super impressive!!! 😀
babymics- i buy all of my baking ingredients at craft stores.. particularly micheal’s & Joann’s. I live in southern california, so the stores I go to might not be available worldwide. I know there’s a hobby lobby on the east coast that you can buy supplies at for baked goods. you can also buy supplies online at kitchenkrafts.com. hope that helps!
queenbee- thanks so much!
This recipe was great for making a large batch of holiday cookies with my children! (Other recipes we have tried have led to tears and frustration.) We had so much fun and success this year. Thanks!!
They loook lovely! And i die for that piping set omggg ^^
do these sugar cookies harden fast?
I made these for my daughter’s preschool class to decorate. The dough was very crumbly and hard to roll out, but once done, it cut easily and baked well. Each year I try out a new sugar cookie recipe because I just haven’t found the one. This is definitely the best tasting recipe…I just struggled with the dough a bit. Any suggestions? I’m usually very good with recipes.
BTW love the way you decorated these! They look great!
Hi Kim,
First of all I LOOOOOVE your site! It’s fabulous! My fave recipe from here is definitely the chocolate macadamia nut cookies…they were delish!
Anyways, I bought a pack of wilton lollipop sticks, but supposedly they aren’t oven safe? have you ever had a problem? Or do you always use the wilton cookie sticks?
Thanks for all the help! Happy holiday baking! 🙂
I’m loving the looks of these Bride and Groom cookies…they are simply gorgeous ! I can’t wait to try these.