No Christmas festivity is complete without shortbread. Three ingredients, my friends. It doesn't get any simpler than this!
1 lb butter (454g), at room temperature
3/4 cup icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
4 cups white flour
Mix it all together with your hands. (Don't forget to wash your hands first!) Sprinkle a flat surface with flour and roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Bake at 325 F (160°C) for 10-15 minutes, until the bottoms are starting to turn golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool and let the fun begin!
Royal Icing
3 tbsp meringue powder
4 cups icing sugar
6 tbsp water, approximately
Beat all ingredients until thoroughly mixed. The icing will be very stiff. I blew the motor in my mixer attempting to make icing. If you have really strong arms, I guess you could stir it with a spoon. Don't add all the water at once. Once you add water, you can't take it back. To colour the icing, it is best to use paste instead of liquid food colouring. You can get both meringue powder and paste at Michael's or the Bulk Barn. Use an icing bag or Ziploc bag with a tiny hole in one corner to decorate your cookies. Some people use egg whites instead of meringue powder. I have a healthy fear of bacteria and will stick to meringue powder.
1 lb butter (454g), at room temperature
3/4 cup icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
4 cups white flour
Mix it all together with your hands. (Don't forget to wash your hands first!) Sprinkle a flat surface with flour and roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Bake at 325 F (160°C) for 10-15 minutes, until the bottoms are starting to turn golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool and let the fun begin!
Royal Icing
3 tbsp meringue powder
4 cups icing sugar
6 tbsp water, approximately
Beat all ingredients until thoroughly mixed. The icing will be very stiff. I blew the motor in my mixer attempting to make icing. If you have really strong arms, I guess you could stir it with a spoon. Don't add all the water at once. Once you add water, you can't take it back. To colour the icing, it is best to use paste instead of liquid food colouring. You can get both meringue powder and paste at Michael's or the Bulk Barn. Use an icing bag or Ziploc bag with a tiny hole in one corner to decorate your cookies. Some people use egg whites instead of meringue powder. I have a healthy fear of bacteria and will stick to meringue powder.
Now if you are adventurous like me (or crazy as I was labelled last Christmas by my loved ones), you can do this:
The white icing needs to be thinned with water until a toothpick can easily slide through and the line will disappear rather quickly. If the icing is too thin, it will run right off the sides of the cookies. Do the same with the coloured icing. Spread the white icing on a cookie and then using an icing bag (or Ziploc bag) immediately apply dots and/or circles on top and run a toothpick through it.
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