I made sugar cookies and used a simple glaze made from confectioner's sugar. I liked the homespun feel of our cookies but if you'd like them to be a little more polished, you could pipe/flood royal icing -- the background would be a little more opaque and the edges a little more precise.
After your cookies have cooled, you can glaze them. I used the back of a spoon, but you could use a pastry brush or an offset spatula. The glaze takes anywhere from 8 - 24 hours to set and you'll want to be sure the glaze if completely set and firm before you start drawing on them. (Also, the glaze works better on golden, slightly crisp cookies than on soft cookies.)
Once the glaze is set, start drawing! I set up parchment paper, took out the pens and we started coloring.
You'll need:
Gourmet Food Writer Decorating Pens
Cookie Cutters
Sugar Cookies (recipe follows)
Sugar Glaze (recipe follows)
Sugar Cookie Recipe
(makes about 12 - 18 cookies depending on the size)
3 cups flour, sifted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1) Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
2) Mix butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture.
3) Wrap the batter into plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
4) Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Roll out your cookies to about 1/4 inch. Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes until edges are golden. Remove from the oven and cool on racks.
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tbsp water (more if needed)
Add a little water at a time and mix with a whisk until smooth. You want the glaze to be easy to spread but not watery. To see if it's ready, place a spoon in the bowl and pull it out a bit, letting the glaze drizzle back into the bowl. It should take a few seconds for the drizzled glaze to blend back into the rest of the glaze in the bowl.
