Onesie Sugar Cookies

I had been planning on making these onesie sugar cookies as soon as my sister-in-law said she was pregnant. I knew they would make the perfect party favor for everyone to take home from the shower. Making decorative sugar cookies takes time and devotion. You just can’t roll, cut, bake and decorate in one day. It takes a lot planning ahead of time. I had never made 55 cookies at one time before so I was unsure how much time I needed. I spent roughly 9 hours working on the cookies. That is from beginning to end. Knowing this, I’ll be able to plan even better for the next time I have to make so many.

One of my biggest set backs while making the cookies was the first batch I was trying to roll out. The darn cookies wouldn’t come together. They kept crumbling even though I kneaded and kneaded them like crazy. I went back to review the recipe and found I did a few things wrong. First, I didn’t cream the butter and sugar long enough. As I was kneading the cookies I could feel a lot of grit on my fingers, that tells me the creaming wasn’t done properly. Second, the original recipe calls for at least 1 tsp of vanilla and I was using half that. Once I creamed the butter and sugar better and added more vanilla, the rest of the batches worked out great.

The most fun I had was trying to figure out patterns and designs for the cookies. I wanted them all to be different and unique in their own way.

Polka dots are so much fun. I work with 6 cookies at a time. After all the cookies are outlined with the stiffer icing, it’s time to flood. Thinned out royal icing is what you use to “flood” the cookies. Once you have 6 cookies flooded, go back to the first one; take another color of thinned icing and put one drop of that on the already wet cookie. The drop will blend into the icing. Continue to do that till you have it like you want.

Accidents happen and when they do you just go with the flow. That’s what I did with the cookie in the upper right. My original plan was a polka dot cookie, but the last drop I did had a tail on it. There was no way I could leave it that way. I took a toothpick and connected all the dots by dragging the toothpick to each dot. I used the same method to make the hearts. I dropped 5 drops of pink thinned icing on the white cookie and dragged a toothpick down to create those hearts you see on the cookie in the lower left corner.

I’m still working on the writing part. Not quite happy with how some of the ones I wrote on turned out. But as I tell my kids, practice makes perfect.

Sugar Cookies:

• 3 c unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 c sugar
• 2 sticks cold butter, cut into cubes
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp pure almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.
3. Roll onto a floured surface and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

 

Royal Icing:

• 4 TBSP meringue powder
• scant 1/2 c. water
• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp light corn syrup
• few drops clear extract (I use almond extract)

1. Combine the meringue powder and water. With the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat until combined and foamy.
2. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat on low to combine. (Do NOT skip the sifting!)
3. Add in the corn syrup and extract.
4. Increase speed to med-high/high and beat for about 5 minutes, just until the icing is glossy and stiff peaks form.
5. Cover with plastic wrap touching the icing or divide and color using gel paste food colorings.

Source: Cookies Bake at 350 Royal Icing and Techniques Bake at 350