Sugar Sugar

Like most people lately, the past few weeks have been busy busy busy. I've been settling in at my new position, attending holiday parties, shopping for gifts, decorating my place and wrapping presents. My baking endeavours have been on the back burner for a while but this weekend I got back into the swing of things. This recipe... sugar cookies.


Sugar Cookies:


Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups butter (oh boy)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350'F. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until completely combined. Cool the dough overnight in the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes as desired and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 6-8 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Let cool completely before icing.

Royal Icing:

Ingredients:
3 egg whites
3 cups icing sugar

Directions:
Beat egg whites until foamy. Slowly add sugar and stir until completely blended. Add colouring if desired. Icing will cool and harden.  Pipe or spread on cookies as desired.