Snowy Village Decorated Sugar Cookies ⛄🏘️🍪
Ingredients:
For the Sugar Cookies:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 🌾
1 teaspoon baking powder 🧂
1/2 teaspoon salt 🧂
1 cup unsalted butter (softened) 🧈
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 🍬
1 large egg 🥚
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 🍦
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional) 🌰
1/4 cup sour cream 🧑🍳 (for extra softness)
For the Royal Icing:
1 egg white (or 2 tablespoons meringue powder) 🥚
2 cups powdered sugar 🍬
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 🍦
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 🍋
A few drops of blue food coloring (for snow effect) ❄️
White food coloring or more powdered sugar (for snow effect) 🎨
Green, red, and brown food coloring (for details like trees, berries, and roofs) 🌲🎄
For Decoration:
Edible glitter or snowflake sprinkles ✨
Miniature candy canes 🍬
Mini chocolate chips (for windows or doors) 🍫
Red and green candy pearls for accents 🍒
Instructions:
For the Sugar Cookies:
Preheat the oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper. 🍽️
Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 🌾🧂
Cream the butter and sugar: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 🧈🍬
Add the egg and extracts: Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract (if using). 🍦🌰
Combine the dry and wet ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined. 🍪
Chill the dough: Divide the dough into two portions, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. ❄️
Roll and cut: Roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters in the shape of little houses, Christmas trees, snowflakes, or any other wintery shapes you like. 🏠🎄❄️
Bake the cookies: Place the cut-out cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, spaced about 1 inch apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely. 🕒
For the Royal Icing:
Prepare the royal icing: In a large bowl, beat the egg white (or meringue powder) until frothy. Gradually add the powdered sugar and lemon juice, beating until stiff peaks form. 🍬🍋
Color the icing: Divide the royal icing into several bowls. Tint one batch with blue food coloring for snow and sky effects. Keep one batch white for snowy roofs and snow-covered trees, and tint others with green, red, or brown for decorative details. 🎨
Decorate the Cookies:
Outline the cookies: Using a piping bag or a small zip-top bag with the tip cut off, outline the shapes of each cookie with royal icing. For houses, make sure to outline the windows, rooflines, and doors. For trees, outline the branches. 🍪🌲
Flood the cookies: Once the outlines are dry (about 10 minutes), fill in the cookies with a thicker royal icing consistency. Use the blue icing for snow and sky on snowflakes and houses, and white icing for snow-covered roofs and the ground. Spread it evenly with a toothpick if necessary. ❄️🏠
Add details: Pipe smaller details like windows, doors, and roof patterns on the houses with brown or red icing. Decorate the trees with green icing and add red candy pearls for berries or miniature candy canes as ornaments. 🎄🍬
Create a snowy effect: Once the base icing has dried, you can add a touch of edible glitter or snowflake sprinkles on the roof or tree branches to create a sparkling, snowy effect. ✨❄️
Let the cookies dry: Allow the cookies to dry completely (about 1-2 hours) before serving or packaging them. 🕒
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