Best Royal Holiday Cookies Recipes

HOW TO DECORATE SHORTBREAD HOLIDAY CUT-OUT COOKIES WITH ROYAL ICING RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix with a fork.
• In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer for 3-5 minutes, until the butter and sugar are fully combined, but before the mixture becomes fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to incorporate.
• Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined, but crumbly. Finish mixing with your hands until the dough comes together in a ball.
• Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll out to about ¼-inch thick. Use cookie cutters of your choice to punch out cookies. Place the cookie cut-outs on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Let cool completely.
• To make the royal icing: In a medium bowl, add the meringue powder to the powdered sugar. Whisk to combine. Add the vanilla and 4-6 tablespoons of water (depending on how runny or thick you'd like your icing.) Whisk until completely combined.
• Divide the icing into smaller bowls and add any desired gel food colors. Immediately transfer to piping bags, or cover with plastic wrap. Do not leave the icing uncovered, as it will develop a film. If this happens, add a small amount of water and whisk to incorporate.
• Decorate the cookies with royal icing as desired and let dry completely, at least 3-4 hours or overnight.
• Enjoy!

ROYAL ICING FOR HOLIDAY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix sugar, water, and meringue powder with a mixer on low speed until smooth, about 7 minutes. Icing should be the consistency of glue. (If icing is too thick, mix in a little more water. If icing is too thin, add more confectioners' sugar.) Add food coloring, 1 drop at a time, until desired color is achieved; if making more than 1 color, divide icing and work in batches. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 1 week. Stir before using.

ROYAL HOLIDAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• On a clean work surface, dust with flour and roll the sugar cookie dough to a thickness of 1/4-to-1/2-inch. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter or a drinking glass, cut out cookies and place 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Re-roll the excess dough to repeat this process until you have used all the dough.
• Bake until the edges are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• While cooling, put 1 ounce of the royal icing into a small bowl and dye it orange. Put it into a pastry bag with a coupler and a plain #6 tip. Put another 1 ounce of the royal icing into a small bowl and dye it black. Put it into a pastry bag with a coupler and a plain #4 tip. Put another 1 ounce of the white royal icing in a piping bag with a small star tip.
• For Santa cookies: Dust your work surface with cornstarch. Roll out the peach fondant to 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter or drinking glass, cut a circle. Spread a thin coat of royal icing onto the cookie. Lay the peach circle on top of the cookie.
• Roll out the red fondant to 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter or drinking glass, cut a circle. Cut this circle in half and, using a little water as glue, put this half circle at the top half of your cookie.
• Using the white royal icing, pipe Santa's beard and mustache on the bottom third of the cookie. Use the same icing to add the fur and pom-pom to Santa's hat. Use the candy-coated chocolates for the eyes and nose.
• For reindeer cookies: Dust your work surface with cornstarch. Roll out the light brown fondant to 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter or drinking glass, cut a circle. Spread a thin coat of royal icing onto the cookie. Lay the brown circle on top of the cookie.
• Roll a small ball of red fondant the size of a grape in your hand. Using a little water as glue, attach the ball to the bottom half of the cookie. Using the black royal icing, pipe the antlers at the top half of the cookie. Pipe 2 black circles for eyes right above the nose.
• For snowman cookies: Dust your work surface with cornstarch. Roll out half of the white fondant to 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter or drinking glass, cut a circle. Spread a thin coat of royal icing onto the cookie. Lay the white circle on top of the cookie. In the center of the cookie, pipe a sideways triangle with the orange royal icing. Pipe 2 small dots as eyes above the orange triangle. Below the orange triangle, pipe 5 small black dots for the mouth.
• For snowflake cookies: Dust your work surface with cornstarch. Roll out the light blue fondant to 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter or drinking glass, cut a circle. Spread a thin coat of royal icing onto the cookie. Lay the light blue circle on top of the cookie.
• Using the white royal icing with a plain #6 tip, pipe a snowflake design onto the top of the cookie. Once completed, take the whole cookie and flip it upside down into a bowl of crystal sugar.
• For holiday lights cookies: Dust your work surface with cornstarch. Roll out the remaining white fondant to 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter or drinking glass, cut a circle. Spread a thin coat of royal icing onto the cookie. Lay the white circle on top of the cookie.
• Using the black royal icing, pipe a wavy line going around the outside edge of the cookie. Add multi-colored candy-coated chocolates to represent lights.