Good Morning Arizona: Iced Easter Sugar Cookies!

LOTS of moms out there are dealing with egg allergies these days, or even kiddos that just don't want to eat the leftover hard-boiled eggs!

This is a great way to carry on the tradition of dyeing and decorating eggs without the leftovers and allergies!

Iced Easter Sugar Cookies

Prep Time: 60 minutes (plus one hour chill time) / Cook Time: 60 minutes / Servings: 24 cookies

Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1.5 sticks of butter, softened

  

  Iced Easter Sugar Cookies

• 1 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• .5 teaspoon salt

Steps:

1. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
2. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light in color and fluffy.  
3. Add the eggs one at a time, and slowly mix in the vanilla.
4. Mix in the flour, baking powder and salt, until all ingredients are combined and a loose dough is formed.  Wrap the mixture tightly in plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least an hour in the refrigerator.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6. Roll out dough out onto a floured silicone baking mat or parchment paper until the dough is 1/4 inch thick. Use Easter themed cookie cutters to make shapes and transfer the silicone mat or parchment paper to a cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 6-7 minutes at 400 degrees until edges are golden brown.  Cool Completely before frosting with royal icing (recipe follows).

Royal Icing

Prep Time: 10 minutes / Cook Time: 5 minutes / Servings: Ices 24 cookies

Ingredients:

• 5 egg whites
• 1.5 cups granulated sugar
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. clear vanilla extract
• 4-6 tbsp. water (to adjust thickness)
• various food coloring

Steps:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the egg whites and granulated sugar.  Stir constantly on medium heat until the sugar is completely melted and the mixture reaches 160 degrees (this will pasteurize the eggs and kill any bacteria).  Place the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whip on high speed for 5-7 minutes until stiff peaks form into a meringue.
2. Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar one cup at a time, slowly increasing the speed to incorporate each cup before adding the next.
3. Separate the icing into smaller bowls, adding water, 1 tbsp. at a time to achieve the desired icing thickness (I like to use a thinner, "flood" consistency).
4. Drop food coloring into each bowl as desired, using a toothpick to stream the dye into patterns and shapes on the surface of the icing.
5. Dip the cookies briefly on the top of the icing, face down.  Lift up slowly and allow the excess icing to drip back into the bowl before placing the cookies on a wire cooling rack to set.  Add more food coloring to the icing as needed, or to change the colors/patterns.
6. Allow the cookies to set for 1-2 hours before serving.