sparkling sugar cookies
makes 38 cookies (3 inches in diameter)
Special equipment: electric mixer, 3-inch round cookie cutter or other shapes
2 cups (4 sticks/1 pound/454 grams)
unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups (13 ⁄2 ounces/383 grams) sugar
4 1⁄2 cups (1 pound 7 ounces/650 grams)
all-purpose flour
1
8 large egg yolks
⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
1
1. In an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light
and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and salt and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour
in 3 additions, mixing on low speed and scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure all dry
ingredients are mixed in. Remove the dough from the mixer, shape into a flattened ball, and wrap in plastic
wrap. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours or longer.
2. When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch (As you
start to roll the dough, use a ruler to check, because for the best textured cookies, you don’t want the dough too
thin.) Use a three-inch round cutter (or another shape) and cut as many cookies as you can from the sheet of
rolled dough. Gently gather the scraps together and reroll the dough one more time, cutting more cookies and
discarding the scraps. Place the cookies about an inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.
4. Bake until very lightly browned around the edges, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through
the baking time. If you have 2 pans in the oven at the same time, also switch them between the racks. Remove
the baking sheet from the oven and cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before removing the cookies using
an offset spatula. Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating as desired.
royal decorating icing
Makes enough to decorate about 40 cookies
3 cups (12 ounces/340 grams)
powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 large egg white
Food Coloring (optional)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Put the powdered sugar in a bowl and add the egg white, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Combine with a
whisk, whisking until smooth. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and stir until the color is even.
Use royal icing immediately after making it.
Recipes from the dahlia bakery cookbook
by tom douglas & shelley lance
From Our House to Yours • Happy Holidays from
how to decorate sugar cookies
To decorate the Sparkling Sugar Cookies, first make royal icing for decorating sugar cookies. If you like,
you can color the icing with food coloring. You can use liquid food coloring, but we prefer gel or paste
colors because they are more potent, and thus they require less coloring and won’t affect the consistency of
your icing. If using gel or paste food colors, you’ll need to add only a tiny drop to your royal icing. If you
want more than one color, divide the icing into small bowls and add the color of your choice to each bowl.
To decorate the cookies, you can make a paper cone, which is what our pastry bakers do, by cutting a
triangle out of parchment paper and folding it to make a cone. If you don’t know how to make a paper
cone, it’s easy to find instructions, often with video, online, or you can use a pastry bag with a small plain
tip. Disposable pastry bags work well because you can cut off and save the tip and then throw the rest of the
bag and any leftover icing away when you’re done. You can even use a quart-size resealable plastic bag filled
with icing and cut a bit off one corner to make an impromptu pastry bag.
Fill the paper cone or pastry bag with freshly made royal icing or fill a few cones or bags with different
colors of icing (never fill a cone or pastry bag more than two-thirds full or it will be too difficult to handle)
and pipe the icing onto the cookies as desired. Our pastry bakers often outline the silhouette of each cookie
with a thin line of icing, or they may decorate the center of the cookie with overlapping lines of icing in
different colors.
If you don’t want to use a pastry bag, you can spread icing on the cookies using a small offset spatula or thin
the royal icing as needed and use a pastry brush to brush it on the cookies.
If desired, sprinkle the cookies with decorative colored sugars while the icing is still wet. (Another way is to
turn each cookie upside down and press it gently into a shallow dish of decorative sugar while the icing is
still wet.) Allow the icing to set up at room temperature before serving the cookies.
Recipes from the dahlia bakery cookbook
by tom douglas & shelley lance
From Our House to Yours • Happy Holidays from