Ingredients
Ingredients for Cookies
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 sticks room temperature unsalted butter (1 cup)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1 tsp baking powder (optional)
Royal Icing Ingredients:
- 3 pasturized egg whites
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
- food coloring (optional)
Directions for Cookies:
- Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and set aside. In a small dish whisk together egg and vanilla and lemon extract and zest from lemon and set aside
- In a mixing bowl cream together room temperature butter, and sugar about 5 minutes, scrape the bowl twice. Butter creamed with sugar should be light creamy in color.
- Gradually add vanilla egg mixture, beating anywhere till well combined about a minute. Lower the speed of your mixer to low. Gradually in 3 additions add flour mixture. Scrape the bowl well after the last addition and beat on low speed until flour blended in. At this stage you'll see chucks of dough.
- Dust a large mixing bowl with 1 tbs flour. Scrape the cookie dough into bowl. Gather dough together. Using your hands knead the cookie dough for about 10-20 seconds, until dough comes together. Shape into a disk.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or 4hours(minimum) or speed up the process by placing it into the freeze for15 minutes.
- Roll cookies between parchment using 1/4 inch rolling guides. Cut and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Put back in refrigerator or 10 min.
- Preheated oven 350 and Bake for 10-11 min.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5-7 minutes, transfer to cooling rack. Decorate as desired. Decorate with royal icing.
Directions for Royal Icing:
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or beaters. Beat on medium speed until frothy.
- Add the confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until blended. Increase the speed to medium-low and beat until the mixture is thick and shiny, 3 to 5 minutes. Divide the icing into bowls depending on how many colors you plan to use. Use food coloring to tint the icing and then add water, little by little, to get the right consistency. Use a thicker icing for details and outlines and a thinner icing for "flooding," or fully covering the surface of the cookies. Place a damp paper towel directly on top of the icing to keep a skin from forming on top. If not using within 2 hours, cover the bowls tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.