I love sugar cookies but I don’t have the patience to make cutout cookies, so I haven’t made them in years. I also watch a lot of baking competitions on the Food Network and I have been enticed by the flooding technique using royal icing to decorate cookies. I’m not very crafty, I wish I were but that is not where my talents lie. I decided I wanted to give this technique a try but I wanted a different kind of cookie than a plain old sugar cookies so instead I made Brown Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing.
These cookies are delicious. The brown sugar makes them less sweet and a better balance to the royal icing. To learn to make the royal icing I watched a few dozen YouTube videos and I quickly learned that there are two basic ways to make it. You can use Meringue Powder (which is pricey) or pasteurized egg whites. I opted for the egg white method. You can buy egg whites in a small carton in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
I’m going to be honest, making royal icing takes patience and practice to get the consistency just right. Don’t even talk to me about coloring the icing to try and get Christmas red. I ended up with brick red, oh well. I hope to take a “Decorating with Royal Icing” class at the craft store sometime soon. I tried both piping bags and plastic squeeze bottles, I found the bottles easier to use.
These Brown Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing were a labor of love. I had fun trying new decorating techniques.
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 oz pasteurized egg whites
- 1 lb confectioner's sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup water room temperature
- gel food coloring
Beat together the butter, sugar, and eggs until creamy.
Add in the flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper (1/4-1/2" thick).
Place dough on sheet tray and place in refrigerator to chill for at least one hour.
Remove tray from fridge and cut out cookies. Place cutouts on ungreased cookies sheets and place back in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven yo 375° F.
Bake cookies at 375° for 5-8 minutes, until they just start to brown.
Cool cookies on baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to cooling racks.
Cool completely before icing.
Pour the egg whites in the bowl of an stand mixer with the whisk, mix on medium until egg whites are frothy.
Add the confectioner's sugar and vanilla beat on low speed until blended. Increase to medium for 5-7 minutes until it is thick and shiny.
If it seems too thick, doesn't reincorporate when dropped back into bowl, add water one half tablespoon at a time until it reached the desired consistency. Don't rush this step, it takes time.
Divide the icing into separate bowls for each color you are planning on using. Start with just 1-2 drops of color first. Mix it in completely then add more if needed.
If you don't know how to use royal icing with the flooding technique there are hundreds of YouTube videos to show you. I am just learning myself so I am not the one to teach you the technique.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and all of the easy recipes I share here on The Mom Maven. I hope you share them on your social networks. I just ask that you not copy and share the entire recipe with photos. Please use the sharing buttons below and share the link to this post. Thanks!
They look totally awesome!
The colors make them pop with originality.