Let it Snow!

Another winter storm is headed toward New York. Our third big winter blast of the year. Enough already I tell you! Instead of moping around the apartment and cursing the weather I've decided to embrace it. And what better way to do it than with Snowflake Cookies. I made these a few weeks ago as part of my holiday baking extravaganza and remembered to take a few photos so that I could share later.

The cookie itself is my mom's famous sugar cookie cutout recipe. It yields a flavorful, sturdy cookie with a tender crumb. I decorated the cookies with royal icing applied to the cookie using a simple plastic squeeze bottle which are available in craft stores. I found mine at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

To decorate, hold the cookie in one hand and swirl the icing onto the cookie with the squeeze bottle, making sure to touch the cookie with the tip of the bottle. Have fun with it. I decorated the cookies with white sanding sugar to give them a glisten. I also made stars at the same time. For the stars, I iced the whole cookie and finished it with sanding sugar.

Christmas Cookie Cut Outs

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla, mix well.
Add dry ingredients and mix until ingredients come together. Do not over mix.

Roll out dough until 1/8 inch thick, cut into shapes and transfer to parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned around the edges. Let cookies cool on try for about a minute and remove to wire racks to finish cooling.

Decorate with royal icing.

Royal Icing
2 large egg whites
1 pound confectioners' sugar
food coloring and/or sanding sugar

Beat egg whites, sugar, and 2 t water on low speed for 10 minutes. For thicker icing continue to beat 2 or 3 minutes more. Transfer to smaller bowls and add food coloring as desired. If icing is too thick, add a drop or two of water to thin. Keep icing covered with plastic wrap when not using to avoid hardening.

Stars and Snowflake













Squeeze Bottles