


Fun Favors!
Throwing a party? You might think favors would be last on the list of things to take care of, but if you plan on handing out cookies, make them in advance. They’re a lot of work, but worth it. Trust me!
Sugar cookies can be baked ahead of time and frozen, then defrosted and decorated OR the finished cookies can be frozen. Either way, set aside time if you are going to bag and wrap them.
Shout out to Michele Schonhorn, who showed me how to make the icing smoother and outline the design. Her sugar cookie recipe is slightly different than mine so I’m listing it here. Shout out also to my assistant baker, none other than Graduate #1.
Happy baking, hon!
Basic Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (I used margarine to make recipe non-dairy)
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 egg
2-3 teaspoons flavoring such as vanilla or almond
2 1/2 – 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cream together softened butter and confectioner’s sugar.
- Crack egg into a separate bowl and add flavoring. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until egg is thoroughly incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt, then add the dry mixture, little by little, to the butter/sugar mixture. (Tip-a paddle attachment works well. Dough will by sticky.)
- Roll out on parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thick, using flour for dusting as necessary. Cut and bake for 7 – 8 minutes.
Yield: 2 – 2 1/2 dozen cookies. The recipe doubled will yield approximately 4 -5 dozen.
Notes: The dough DOES not need to be refrigerated, but it does need to rest a little after mixing. It will firm up a bit after a minute or two. Baking times are approximate so watch the cookies. If they are browning, they’ve been in a little too long.
Royal Icing Recipe
Ingredients
3 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
3 Tablespoons of meringue or dried egg white powder
6 Tablespoons warm water
Beat about 4 minutes by hand. Thin icing, if needed with extra tablespoons of warm water.
Add color in small amounts. (Tip–it’s easier to darken a color than lighten it.)
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OMG, I love these! How did you do it, I want to do it for Max and his friends!
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You are welcome to borrow my cookie cutters. Just make the cookies and then decorate–easy!
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