Queen Bee Holiday Sugar Cookies
The perfect, buttery holiday cookie!
The recipe is simple and the dough is easy to handle.
This cookie dough freezes well and can be kept in freezer for one month. Or bake cookies ahead of time (left undecorated) wrap tightly and freeze for two weeks. A Royal Icing recipe is below.
There are many website, recipe and video instructions on how to decorate cookies. This one from TheKitchn illustrates a simple approach to fuss-free, hand-iced, sugar
cookies suitable for friends and family, Go HERE.
Note the icing recipe in this tutorial does not contain egg white, so it will not harden well. I recommend using the Royal Icing recipe at the bottom of the page.
For vegan icing, try aquafaba in place of egg whites (FYI, I have not tried this). Or buy vegan Meringue Powder.
* Tapioca Starch for dusting pastry board
Whisk together in a separate bowl
3 cups Queen Bee Cake, Cookie, Muffin Flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (this is in addition to the xanthan gum already in QB flour)
3/4 tsp salt
1-1/4 cup chilled unsalted butter (2-1/2 sticks) cut up or dairy-free substitute
1 cup organic sugar, see Sugar Alternatives for low glycemic options
1 egg or egg-free substitute
1 egg yolk (leave out for egg free version)
1 tsp vanilla, lemon or almond extract
In a large bowl, whisk together Queen Bee CCM flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl of stand mixer, combine cubed butter and sugar and beat on high speed for 3 minutes until well combined. Butter does not need to be fluffy.
Add in egg, egg yolk and extract of choice. Beat just to combine.
Reduce speed to low and gradually add dry ingredients; mix just to combine. Form dough into two 3/4" thick disks, wrap each in plastic wrap and chill a minimum of two hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 325°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Let one disk sit at room temperature until softened slightly. About 5 minutes; longer if dough was refrigerated overnight. Roll out dough on a lightly dusted surface (tapioca starch) until about 1/4" thick. Turn and dust with more tapioca starch as needed. If dough gets soft or sticky, chill until firm. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters dipped in tapioca starch, then transfer cookies to parchment lined baking sheets. Keep dusting cookie cutters as you go.
Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until edges are just starting to turn golden, 13-16 minutes, depending on size of cookies.
When done, place cookie sheet on wire rack to cool for five minutes allowing cookies to firm up. Then transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with scraps and remaining dough. If remaining dough is too warm, simply mold into a disk, wrap and re-refrigerate until cool enough to handle.
Classic Royal Icing
2 Tbs powdered egg whites OR meringue powder plus 6 Tbs. warm water
OR 3 large egg whites
16 oz. (4 cups) confectioners’ sugar (Note, if using organic powdered sugar, the icing will not be white.)
Food coloring (optional)
1 tsp almond, lemon or vanilla flavoring (Note, vanilla will darken the icing a bit)
If using the powdered egg whites or meringue powder and warm water, combine them in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl. Let stand, whisking frequently, until the powder is dissolved, about 5 minutes. If using fresh egg whites, just put them in the bowl.
With the whisk attachment on a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, begin mixing on medium speed until frothy. Add the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating until blended. Increase the speed to high and beat until the mixture is thick and shiny, about 3 minutes for fresh eggs and 5 minutes for powdered. Stir in food coloring (if using). If using more than one color, portion icing into separate bowls before adding food coloring. Put a damp paper towel directly on the icing to keep a skin from forming. If not using within 2 hours, cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate.
For Dipping cookies portion out the desired amount in small bowl and then add a few drops of warm water until desired consistency.
This is the video I referenced for a very simple dipping method, click HERE