Valentine's Day is the perfect excuse to put your sugar cookie decorating skills to the test. Today we're using homemade royal icing and my family's sugar cookie recipe to create the most lovely heart-shaped treats.
Materials & Tools
- Cookie cutters
- Icing bag
- #7 and #2 icing tips
- Toothpicks
Ingredients
FOR THE COOKIES:
- 1 ½ cup shortening
- 1 ¾ cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup milk
- 4 cups flour
- ½ tablespoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- Sprinkles
FOR THE ICING:
- 2 pound bag Confectioner’s Sugar
- 11 tablespoons egg beaters
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Food coloring
Instructions For the cookies
Preheat your oven to 375°F. While the oven’s heating up, mix shortening and sugar together in a large bowl.
Add in vanilla, beaten eggs and milk.
In a medium bowl, combine sifted flour, baking powder and salt.
Add about 1/3 cup of dry ingredients to your creamed mixture and stir together. When all ingredients are mixed, put dough on wax paper, wrap and chill for an hour.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to your desired thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut into the dough to create your cookies. Place cookies on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes. While wearing oven mitts, carefully remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
Preheat your oven to 375°F. While the oven’s heating up, mix shortening and sugar together in a large bowl.
Add in vanilla, beaten eggs and milk.
In a medium bowl, combine sifted flour, baking powder and salt.
Add about ⅓ cup of dry ingredients to your creamed mixture and stir together. When all ingredients are mixed, put dough on wax paper, wrap and chill for an hour.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to your desired thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut into the dough to create your cookies. Place cookies on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes. While wearing oven mitts, carefully remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
Instructions For the icing
ICING TIPS
Icing hardens as it's exposed to air, so it's important to have your icing bags ready and waiting. The best thing to do is set them in a tall glass and then use chip clips to close the top.
If you ever feel like you’ve added too much water to your icing, no big deal, just add a little sugar to get it back to the consistency you need.
Using a mixer, combine the confectioner's sugar and egg whites. Mix on a low speed for 3-4 minutes until it's almost a glue-like consistency. Add vanilla and mix for another minute. Then, add food coloring and divvy out your mixture into two bowls to make your boarder and fill icing.
Add ¼ tsp of water to the bowl of your border icing until it falls in heavy globs off the spoon. Add ½-1 tsp of water to the bowl of your fill icing until it flows in a steady stream off the spoon. Then, fill up your icing bags. The fill icing goes with the larger #7 icing tip and the border icing with the smaller #2 icing tip.
Cover your cookie with the fill icing. While it's still wet, add strips or lines of another color to the inside of your cookie. Then, take a toothpick and run it through the icing in the opposite direction. Now you have marbled cookies. Finally, use your border icing to trace an outline around the edge of the cookie.
Don’t worry if a cookie or two breaks in the process — you can always turn it into a broken heart!
Let your icing fully set before serving your treats. In the meantime, share what you baked up with #MakeAndTell.
Using a mixer, combine the confectioner's sugar and egg whites. Mix on a low speed for 3-4 minutes until it's almost a glue-like consistency. Add vanilla and mix for another minute. Then, add food coloring and divvy out your mixture into two bowls to make your boarder and fill icing.
Add ¼ tsp of water to the bowl of your border icing until it falls in heavy globs off the spoon. Add ½-1 tsp of water to the bowl of your fill icing until it flows in a steady stream off the spoon. Then, fill up your icing bags. The fill icing goes with the larger #7 icing tip and the border icing with the smaller #2 icing tip.
Cover your cookie with the fill icing. While it's still wet, add strips or lines of another color to the inside of your cookie. Then, take a toothpick and run it through the icing in the opposite direction. Now you have marbled cookies. Finally, use your border icing to trace an outline around the edge of the cookie.
Don’t worry if a cookie or two breaks in the process — you can always turn it into a broken heart!
Let your icing fully set before serving your treats. In the meantime, share what you baked up with #MakeAndTell.
TIPS FOR INSPIRATION
- Don’t forget to add a little flair — sprinkles, tiny candies and mini chocolate chips or caramels all make for great garnishes.
- Use stencils with your icing to add more intricate details or spell out messages.
