These cookies look pretty similar to the ones I saw on the Food Network site, and were a big hit at a Cookie Swap I attended last week. In typical ME fashion, I tried a new recipe to make cookies for the swap and this was also my first time working with Royal frosting.
But it’s all good. Everyone asked how I did the cool swirl and we all thought they were quite tasty. I squirreled away more of the cookies that I brought than any other cookie on the table. I can be selfish, right? Everyone was so full from the dinner we had that I don’t think they noticed. LOL!!
One of the reasons the cookies were so good was that I used Thrive Foods Vanilla Sugar Cookie Mix . What a time saver!
Still experiencing technical difficulties with the recipe format, so enjoy the old school way!
Ingredients:
COOKIES:
Thrive Vanilla Sugar Cookie Mix, pantry can
2 T. flour
3/4 c. butter
1 egg
2 T. water
ROYAL ICING:
1 lb. powdered sugar
2 T. meringue powder
Red and Green gel food coloring
White sugar sprinkles
Instructions:
- Follow the directions on the can of cookie mix, adding the 2 T. of flour to the dry cookie mix (for rolled and cut cookies).
- Shape the dough into a disk, wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour*.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Generously dust your work surface with powdered sugar and roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thick.
- Cut cookie dough with a 2-inch round cookie cutter, re-rolling scraps and cutting more cookies.
- Place cookies about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Refrigerate cookies until firm, about 1 hour.
- Place oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. on Convection bake (350 degrees for regular oven).
- Bake the cookies, rotating the pans halfway through, until lightly browned around the edges, 9-11 minutes. Cool completely on cookie sheets.
- For the Royal Icing: combine the powdered sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 7 T. water and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until soft glossy peaks form, adding up to 8 T. of water if necessary to make a smooth icing that thickly coats the back of a spoon.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment and set a cooling rack on top.
- Put 1/4 c. icing into each of 2 small bowls. Add 9 drops red food coloring to one bowl, stirring until evenly combined. Add 2 drops of green food coloring to the second bowl and stir until evenly combined.
- Pour the remaining white icing into a clean, rimmed baking sheet and spread or shake evenly to coat it. Drizzle the red icing over the white, then the green icing.
- One at a time, put the cookies face-down into the icing, taking the cookies out one at a time, shaking gently to let excess icing drip off.
- Place cookies right side up on the prepared cooling rack. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired.
- Let icing harden completely before serving, about an hour.
Note: you can place the dough in the freezer if you are short on time. That’s what I had to do!
Source: adapted from Food Network.