Sugar Cookies

Fat cheeks celebrated Teacher's Day at school today. She wanted to give her teachers presents and was so disappointed when she found out that I forgot to help her get any. To make up, I thought I'll bake her teachers some cookies. These decorated cookies have been on my waiting list ever since time in memorial. So I quickly prepared all the ingredients and started creaming away. The dough was done relatively quickly, it was then chucked it into the fridge to chill. In the mean time, I prepared the royal icing for decoration. The dough was suppose rest and set in the fridge for an hour to 2 but being pressed for time, I thought I'll try cutting them anyway. BIG mistake. I only managed to cut about 3 pieces before it started to melt & fall apart. I kept trying & it went from sticky dough to gooey mess. I was so frustrated that I almost threw everything away. Fed up, I threw everything back into the fridge and went on to make cards with Fat Cheeks. Fortunately by the time the cards were completed, the dough firmed up nicely and I was able to cut them finally. It also helped that I've divided the dough into 3 parts, leaving the unused parts in the fridge & only taking it out just before cutting them. By the time I was done with baking, cooling & decorating, it was 1am. ZZZzzzz. So what have I learnt? Planning & patience!! But after all said and done, I have to say the cookies were crispy, butter and delicious. I had tremendous fun decorating the cookies. They weren't as pretty as I had hoped for but they were ok. Lots more practice needed! =)

Ingredients:

- 1.5cups flour
- 1/2tsp baking powder

- 1/4tsp salt

- 115g butter

- 1/2cup sugar

- 1 large egg

- 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

- preheat oven to 180 deg c

- mix flour and baking soda

- beat sugar and butter till light & fluffy

- add eggs and vanilla essence

- beat in flour till soft dough is formed

- wrap in cling wrap and chill in fridge for an hour or 2 till firm

- cut into desired shapes

- bake 8-10 mins till cookies a lightly browned

- cool completely before decorating or storing

Royal Icing:

- 2 cups of icing sugar

- 1.5 tbsp meringue powder

- 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)

- 1/4 to 1/2 cup warm water

Method:

- mix all ingredients in a bowl except water

- add water gradually while whisking mixture till desired consistency is reached

- continue whisking till icing is glossy

- add colour, mix well and decorate