Welcome to the Cookie Recipe Club newsletter.

I know this is only mid-September but the big holidays will be here before you know it. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years mean cookies! And lots of cookies.

The Never Fail Sugar Cookie Recipe in this issue can get you a head start. It makes a big batch and it freezes really well.

It also doesn’t spread very much so the complicated designs of your holiday cookie cutouts will keep their detail.

If you’ve never used Royal Icing to decorate cookies then you need to get your feet wet!

Read “How To Decorate Cookies With Royal Icing”, practice a little, and you’ll be ready for the holidays.

The article is specifically for complicated designs. Icing round cookies or simple designs is simply a matter of using an artists’ brush and brushing it on.

Enjoy the issue. Jim

How To Decorate Cookies With Royal Icing

Decorating cookies with Royal icing is not rocket science. With just a little practice anybody can get good at it. However, there are a few tricks that will help along the way.

The first consideration, of course, is making the Royal icing. If you have an intricate cookie design then you will need two consistencies of icing.

The first consistency is for making an outline around the design. This "outline icing" is thick enough to hold a rounded edge around the cookie design.

The second is a thinner version of the first. This is the "flow icing" used to fill the outline.

Royal Icing Outline Consistency

3 tbsp meringue powder
1 lb sifted confectioners' sugar
5-6 tbsp lukewarm water
1 tsp flavoring like vanilla, lemon, orange, almond or cherry

Combine all the ingredients and mix with an electric mixer 5 to 6 minutes on a low speed. You want to keep air incorporation to a minimum.

This recipe should give you a good outline consistency. If it's not quite right you can add water a tablespoon at a time to thin or powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time to thicken.

This icing dries very quickly so keep portions you are not using well covered.

Flow Consistency: To make the flow icing to fill in the cookies after outlining you will need to thin the base with 3 to 4 tablespoons of additional water.

For adding color use gel or paste coloring. You will want to tint only a little at a time and remember to keep it covered.

For decorating the cookie you will need a piping bag with a coupler and a #2 tip to create the outline.

For flooding a #3 tip for small cookies or a #5 for large cookies. Alternately you can fill using a plastic squeeze bottle.

To fill a pastry bag: Place the bag tip side down in a glass about 3 inches shorter than it; fold the top of the bag down over the edge of the glass to form a cuff. Using a large rubber spatula, scrape the icing into the bag, filing it to one-half to two-thirds full. Unfold the cuff, and then twist the bag to close

With your writing hand, grip the bag near the roll above the frosting level with the full end in your palm. Apply pressure from the palm of your hand, forcing frosting toward the tip.

Then Use your other hand to guide the tip of the bag. With a little practice, you will learn to control the flow of the frosting by changing the pressure.

For creating the outline hold the tip just slightly above the cookie. You want the outline to be rounded to create a dam for the flood icing. Outlines that are flat indicate soft icing or touching the surface with the tip while drawing the outline.

Attach all icing outlines by blending smooth with a slightly dampened art brush so that there are no "breaks" which allow flow icing to leak out and ruin your decoration.

If the outline and the fill are the same color icing, let the outlines dry a few minutes until they "crust". If the outline and the fill are made from different color icings, let outlines dry thoroughly (1-2 hours) before filling.

Fill the outlined cookies with a squeeze bottle or a bag using a #3 or #5 tip. Use a slightly dampened art brush to brush the fill into the nooks and crannies of the design.

Now that's the procedure for an intricate cookie design. And believe me it sounds like a lot more work than it really is. Just a session or two and you'll be decorating cookies with Royal icing like a pro.

Never Fail Sugar Cookies

Make sure you let your oven preheat for at least 1/2 hour before baking these or any other cookies.

6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring
1 tsp. Salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.

Chill for 1 to 2 hours (or see Hint below)

Roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges. This recipe can make up to 5-dozen 3" cookies.

HINT: Rolling Out Dough Without the Mess -- Rather than wait for your cookie dough to chill, take the freshly made dough and place a glob between two sheets of parchment paper.

Roll it out to the desired thickness then place the dough and paper on a cookie sheet and pop it into the refrigerator. Continue rolling out your dough between sheets of paper until you have used it all. By the time you are finished, the first batch will be completely chilled and ready to cut.

Reroll leftover dough and repeat the process! An added bonus is that you are not adding any additional flour to your cookies.

Jim