Classic Sugar Cookies with Smooth Royal Icing for Decorating

Cookies:

• 90 g (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) soft unsalted butter
• 100 g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 210 g (2 cups minus 2 tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus more for rolling
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Icing topping:

• 225 g (2 cups) confectioners’ sugar
• 4 tbsp milk
• Food colouring paste
• Mini Smarties
• Edible glitter

• Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer for 3–4 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract and beat for another minute to combine.
• Add half the flour and all the baking powder and mix for 30 seconds until combined. Add the remaining flour and mix until the dough just comes together.
• Lay a large piece of baking parchment on a work surface, lightly flour it, place the dough on top, sprinkle with a little more flour and roll out to about 0.5 cm thick. Slide the parchment with the dough onto a baking sheet, cover with clingfilm and chill for an hour (or up to 24 hours).
• Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F (fan). Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
• Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter. Re-roll scraps and cut more until all the dough is used (you should get at least 14 medium cookies).
• Bake for about 7–10 minutes until very lightly golden around the edges. Remove and cool completely on the tray or a wire rack.
• Make two consistencies of icing: a thick border icing and a thinner filler icing. Start by mixing the confectioners’ sugar with 2–3 tbsp of milk. For the border icing you want a thick consistency — when you lift the whisk you should see a trail of icing that takes 5–6 seconds to sink back in.
• Pour half the mixture into another bowl and add a little more milk until a trail sinks back in after 1–2 seconds. This is the filler icing.
• Tint the icings with food colouring paste and spoon into disposable piping bags. Snip small tips off the bags. Use the thicker border icing to pipe outlines and patterns, then use the thinner filler icing to “colour in” the shapes. The border should prevent the filler from running off the cookie. Work sparingly with the filler and use a cocktail stick to nudge it to the edges. If you plan to pipe more details on top, let the base layer dry first.
• For the Christmas tree cookies: pipe a green border, fill with green filler icing and let it dry. Pipe white border icing lines to look like tinsel, then stick mini Smarties on with a dot of border icing. For stars, pipe white border icing and sprinkle edible glitter before the icing sets.

Nutritional information is per cookie and is approximate.

Nutrition