Sugar Cookies

Sometimes, when life hands me lemons, I don't make lemonade, I add it(lemons) to the royal icing instead, seriously. I spent four hours baking and I am happy.Why wouldn't I be?  I have my radio on, the recipe in front of me and that is all I need.

I spent most of the afternoon deciding between a Bristol Cake and these cookies. The cookies won, obviously. I did feel a little out of place when I was making this one, because a. There is no chocolate in it, b.  Lemon in the icing?  I was starting to question it... a lot!

Since I am down with a bad wheezing attack, I am asked not to eat any baked good (and I kinda promised my dad that I would not sneak a cookie or two), so I did not taste this cookie. Can't wait till my friends give me a feedback, but I did taste the icing. Come on, why wouldn't I? The lemon in the icing intrigued me beyond words.

And this is my first blog with a picture backing up the whole process. I admit; taking photos, baking, my pet dog trying to come into the kitchen and trying to snatch a cookie, and my dad in the kitchen with me, trying to cook, too. Not a healthy combination.
 Lesson Learnt: Never bake when a man is in the house. They just don't get it.

Tips to remember:

·         The recipe for the icing says powdered sugar or icing powder; stick to icing sugar, because I used powdered sugar and it has a grainy texture when you bite into it.

·         Most of us are not used to the idea of lemon juice in icing- so it can take a while to get used to, but well worth the effort, because this tastes beautiful with a cup of tea.

·         Try and get the dough rolled out thin, so when it bakes it does not become gigantic, like, some of my cookies

·         The dough is quite sticky. Do not fret. Allow it to chill and have the work surface well floured so the dough does not stick to the rolling surface.

·         Store the icing in an air tight container

·         The recipe for the icing with meringue powder is given and I did not use that because I could not find any meringue powder in the market close to me-if you find meringue powder, you can use either icing.

Sugar Cookies: Makes: 36 adapted from Joyofbaking 3 cups (390 grams) all1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter at room temperature 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar 2 large eggs or 3 eggs if they are medium 2 teaspoon vanilla extract Royal Icing Using Egg Whites: 2 large (60 grams) egg whites 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted Royal Icing Using Meringue Powder: 4 cups (440 grams) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted 3 tablespoons (30 grams) meringue powder 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional) 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup (120 - 180 ml) warm water Food Colouring (I used the powdered food colouring- you can use gel, liquid or anything else which is available)

For Sugar Cookies: 

·         In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

·         In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined.

                                                                   

·          Add the flour mixture and beat until you have smooth dough. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.

                                    

·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in centre of oven.

·           Place the dough on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch (1 cm). (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.) 

                                    

·          Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to baking sheet. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill the dough that prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking.
                                                   
                                               

·         Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes (depending on size) or until the edges are just starting to brown. 

                                    

·         Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

·          Frost them with the royal icing, if desired. Be sure to let the royal icing dry completely before storing. (This may take several hours or overnight.)

                                    

·         Frosted cookies will keep several days in an airtight container. Store them between layers of parchment paper or wax paper.

Royal Icing with Egg Whites: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Add the sifted sugar and beat on low speed until smooth. If necessary, to get the right consistency, add more sugar or water. Add food colouring, if desired. I transferred half of the icing in a separate bowl and added the food colouring.


This is the simple plain icing, add colouring to it, as desired.

                                      

 For Royal Icing with Meringue Powder: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand                    mixer), beat the sugar and meringue powder until combined. Add the water and beat on medium/high speed until glossy and stiff peaks form (about 5 minutes). If necessary, to get the right consistency, add more sugar that is powdered or water. Add food colouring, if desired. To cover the entire surface of the cookie with icing, the proper consistency is when you lift the beater, the ribbon of icing that falls back into the bowl remains on the surface of the icing for a few seconds before disappearing.

Hope this helps. Enjoy! Happy Baking :)