Love is: Sugar Cookies

Love is: Sugar Cookies

Showing affection with pretty confections

Posted on February 8, 2018

There’s no better way to express whatever kind of love you are feeling than to bake a batch of old-fashioned sugar cookies with royal icing to share with your “subjects.”

This is a family recipe that I used to make the sugar cookies at Bake Sale Bakery, where we made sugar cookies to celebrate every occasion, from Valentine’s Day to POW!, BAM! and WOW! Comic-Con cookies and holiday ornament cookies. I do cut back a little on the butter in this version, but if you ask me, extra butter makes everything better.

Make the icing in one batch — it will be white — and then divide, color, and place into smaller bags for piping. Terryl Gavre is the owner of Café 222 and co-owner of Bankers Hill + Restaurant, peaceloveandmayo.com

Sugar Cookies:
2¾ cups unbleached AP Flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 stick of butter
¼ cup cream cheese – softened
1¼ cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
1½ tsp pure vanilla or almond extract
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1. Sift and combine dry ingredients
2. Blend the butter and cream cheese in a separate bowl with an electric mixer
3. Add the sugar, and cream until fluffy
4. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix well and scrape.
5. Add dry ingredients and mix for 30 seconds and scrape
6. Mix another 30 seconds until dough is well combined
7. Scrape the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and wrap it into a ball. Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes
8. Divide dough into two batches
9. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to approx. ¼ inch thick
10. Cut your cookies out, re-rolling the dough as
you go
11. Place 1 inch apart on a lined sheet pan and bake in a 350-degree oven for 9-12 minutes until slightly browned
12. Allow to cool completely before frosting
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Royal Icing:
5½ cups sifted confectioners sugar
7 tbsp pasteurized or fresh egg whites
½ tsp vanilla extract
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1. Combine the confectioners sugar and egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle
2. Beat on low to medium speed for approx. 1 minute
3. Add the vanilla and beat another 30 seconds or until soft peaks form
4. Scrape down sides of bowl, and then mix another 30 seconds