Royal Icing

Ingredients:
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. meringue powder
5 tbsp. water

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes). Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container. This will be the stiffest consistency of the icing, and at this point it is still too stiff to use for decorating. Add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated. Continue until the icing has reached a consistency appropriate for piping. (Remember, if you are having any difficulty piping, it is still too thick. Add a little more liquid and try again.) Using a pastry bag, pipe around the edges of each cookie. Let stand so the icing will set. Make sure to keep the leftover icing covered at all times when not in use so that it does not begin to harden.

Once all the cookies have been edged, transfer some of the remaining icing to a separate air-tight container. Thin out by incorporating a small amount of water at a time, until the icing drips off the spoon easily when lifted and then smooths in with that still in the bowl. If you go too far and the icing is too thin, add more sifted powdered sugar to thicken it again. Once the icing has reached the desired consistency, transfer it to a squeeze bottle (or a plastic bag with a hole in one corner), and flood the area surrounded by the piping on each cookie. If it does not completely spread to the edges, use a toothpick to help it along. Allow to set.

Use the remaining thicker icing for piping decoration as desired. Gel icing color is best as it does not add a significant amount of liquid. Liquid food coloring can be used as well – add powdered sugar as needed to compensate for any thinning that occurs.

--Adapted from Katie of Good Things Catered

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Directions
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

--Adapted from Alton Brown

The Chewy

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
2 1/4 c. bread flour
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. baking soda
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 T. milk
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

--From Alton Brown

Sugar Cookies

The best sugar cookie recipe ever, courtesy of Alton Brown.


3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough



Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.




--Adapted from Alton Brown

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chipsters

Who could not love a cookie that combines oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate?!

Ingredients

3 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup (packed) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 1/2 cups store-bought chocolate chips or chunks

Position racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating only until blended. Mix in the chips.

If you have the time, cover and chill the dough for about 2 hours or for up to one day. (Chilling the dough will give you more evenly shaped cookies.) If the dough is not chilled, drop rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the baking sheets. If the dough is chilled, scoop up rounded tablespoons, roll the balls between your palms and place them 2 inches apart on the sheets. Press the chilled balls gently with the heel of your hand until they are about 1/2 inch thick.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 7 minutes. The cookies should be golden and just firm around the edges. Lift the cookies onto cooling racks with a wide metal spatula - they'll firm as they cool.

--Adapted from Baking, From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Lemon Sugar Cookies

This recipe is a great twist on a traditional favorite. Great for non-chocolate lovers!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tbsp lemon zest

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 tbsp sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and lemon zest until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla extract. Gradually mix in the flour at low speed, making sure to incorporate all of the flour and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Place remaining 2-3 tbsp sugar in a small bowl. Shape 1-inch balls of dough, roll in the sugar and place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until set but not browned (or only very lightly on the bottom). Edges should be slightly firm. Cool cookies on the pan for a minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

-Adapted from the blog, Baking Bites

Raspberry Linzer Cookies

These were originally going to be window pane cookies until I realized that I didn't have the appropriate cookie cutters. They ultimately became jelly drop cookies.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Preparation
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, stirring well with a whisk.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg substitute; beat until well blended. Beating at low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat just until a soft dough forms. Divide dough into 2 equal portions, and wrap each dough portion in plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°. Roll each dough portion into a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with a 2-inch square cookie cutter with fluted edges to form 32 cookies. Repeat procedure with remaining dough portion. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Cut out centers of 32 cookies with a 1-inch square cookie cutter with fluted edges. Bake cookies at 375° for 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Spread center of each whole cookie with about 1/2 teaspoon jam. Sprinkle cut-out cookies with powdered sugar. Place 1 cut-out cookie on top of each whole cookie.

Yields about 32 sandwich cookies.

From the Cooking Light website

Molasses Spice Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground 5-spice

1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1/3 c. packed dark brown sugar

1/3 c. granulated sugar, plus 1/2 c. for rolling

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup molasses

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line large baking sheet with parchment.

In medium bowl whisk flour, baking soda, spices, pepper and salt. Either by hand or with electric mixer, beat the butter with brown sugar and 1/3 c. granulated sugar at medium high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 min.) Reduce speed to medium low and add yolk and vanilla, increase speed and beat until incorporated (about 20 seconds). Reduce speed and add molasses beat until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping the bottom and sides once with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to lowest setting and add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, scraping the bowl once. Give the dough a final stir by hand to ensure no flour pockets at bottom. (dough will be soft).

Place 1/2 c. sugar in shallow bowl for rolling. Roll a heaping Tbsp. of dough into scant ball. Drop ball in sugar and roll to coat. Set on prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.

Bake about 11 min. (cookies will "crack", edges are puffy and inside of cracks look raw). Do not overbake. Cool on baking sheet ofor 5 mins. and trasfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Adapted from the blog, Good Things Catered and America's Test Kitchen

Jelly Drops

These are not too sweet, and would be perfect with a cup of tea on a snowy day. This is the first recipe I'm trying out from the book, 500 Cookies that I received as a birthday gift from my sister and her family.

1/2 c. (1 stick) sweet butter

2/3 superfine sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 c. jelly, any flavor

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well.

Sift the flour and baking powder and stir into the butter mixture. Roll the mixture into balls and place them at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Press a finger into each ball and fill the hole with a little jelly. Bake for 10 minutes until golden. Add a little more jelly while the cookies are still warm.

Cool on a wire rack, and store in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days.

Adapted from 500 cookies by Philippa Vanstone