A sweet Christmas treat

Thu., Dec. 15, 2005

Lorie Hutson Food editor

Cookie tips

• This dough is sensitive to heat and humidity, the more of each there is the stickier the dough. If you have a soft sticky dough after following the directions, just add a bit more flour and you will have success.

• You will probably want to make cookies of all sizes and shapes. Just make sure that similarly-sized cookies are on the same pan so that they bake evenly.

• Royal Icing is made with raw egg whites. You can substitute powdered egg whites, available at any well-stocked supermarket in the baking aisle. Reconstitute according to manufacturers instructions. You can also find containers of pasteurized egg whites in the refrigerated dairy aisle.

No holiday cookie tray would be complete without these cookies. Cut out your favorite shapes and decorate with colored sugars before baking or frost them with royal icing.

Sugar Cookies

From “A Baker’s Field Guide to Christmas Cookies, by Dede Wilson

3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

Colored sugars and granulated sugar

Whisk flour and salt together in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add granulated sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes; beat in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add about 1/3 of the flour and mix on low speed. Gradually add remaining flour, mixing just until blended. Scrape dough onto large piece of plastic wrap, form into 2 very flat discs, cover completely with wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out, at least 2 hours or longer.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Take 1 disc and roll out to ¼ -inch thickness on floured surface; you may need to flour the pin, too. Cut out cookies with shapes of choice. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Decorate with colored sugars or colored sugars as you wish. Or, bake them without sugars if you plan to decorate with royal icing. Bake until edges just begin to turn light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Slide parchment onto racks to cool cookies completely before icing, if desired.

Yield: 36 (3-inch) cookies

Thick Royal Icing

3 3/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

3 large egg whites

Gel, paste or liquid food coloring

Medium Royal Icing

3 3/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

3 large egg whites

1 tablespoon water

Gel, paste or liquid food coloring

Thin Royal Icing

3 3/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

3 large egg whites

2 tablespoon water

Gel, paste or liquid food coloring

For each of the icings, place confectioners sugar, egg whites and water, if called for in grease-free bowls and whip with electric mixer on high speed until thick and creamy, about 6 minutes.

Tint if desired with food coloring. Start with small amounts, you can always add more.

The thickest icing is used to pipe a complete border around the cookie’s edge (to form a retaining wall. A dab of it will be stiff enough to hold a peak.

Medium icing can be used to create three-dimensional effects on already dry icing.

The thinnest icing is used to cover cookies completely, or to cover partial sections outlined with a thick textured border.