Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I know, it’s hard to get excited about anything right now with the Corona pandemic pandemonium going on, but making sugar cookies is a delicious distraction for the whole family.

Even my husband who normally disappears when the baking madness begins, showed up to decorate a few shamrocks. Some people draw in coloring books, we bake, it’s free therapy.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if there is no spoon to lick, no bowl to scrape, no sugar to pour, no icing to pipe – then my kids are outta there. Sugar cookies with royal icing are easy to make and they satisfy all toddler requirements. As you can see from the pictures, they were FULLY engaged.

At the toddler age, we’re still working mostly on sequential steps/learning and motor skills. And because sugar cookies only have a few ingredients, this is a really great beginners recipe. My helpful tip to making great sugar cookies is to roll out and refrigerate the dough before cutting shapes. It needs to rest for at least 30 minutes.
I have made many sugar cookies over the years, but I used Sally’s recipe of Sally’s Baking Addiction this time and I thought it was great. I did alter it – I cut out the salt and used salted butter and added the zest of two limes. To the Royal icing I used lime juice instead of water.

I have always preferred making Royal Icing with meringue powder. It never fails. And, you don’t have to fight anyone at the grocery store for eggs! Yay! Our market aisles are empty when it comes to eggs, bread, toilet paper, and chicken. Go figure. I never thought eggs or chicken would be a coveted item, but I guess these are crazy times. However meringue powder is in stock just about everywhere! No one stocking up on powdered egg whites…

I am not a master at Royal Icing decorating. Well, that’s not true, I’m pretty good, but I never get to decorate my own cookies. Some one always takes the ones I start. I divide the icing into bowls and add gel paste coloring. Then I put the icing in piping bags with small round pastry tips. Pipe the outline of the cookie first, then flood the middle of the cookie with more icing and spread it out with a toothpick. You can also just leave it in the bowls and use toothpicks and spoons to decorate.

Royal icing does set up fast. So work quickly!

I hope you and your family are hunkering down and hanging in and staying home. We’ll all get through this. Be safe and make some cookies! And Happy St. Patrick’s Day 💪🍀

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Shamrock Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 cup salted butter, cubed and softened to room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 limes, zested
  • Royal Icing:
  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
  • 1.5 Tablespoons meringue powder
  • 5 Tablespoons lime juice
  • gel food coloring – use Wilton's

For the Cookies:

Whisk the flour and baking powder in a bowl.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until fluffy and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet in one go and mix on low until combined. The dough will come together and be soft. Divide the dough into equal parts. Place each portion onto a piece of parchment paper and roll out to 1/4-inch thickness, place another sheet of parchment on top and crimp the edges, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days (if storing longer, wrap in saran wrap). If the dough feels too sticky, you can use a little extra flour to help with the rolling process.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Using a cookie cutter, cut the chilled and rolled dough out into shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting. If it gets too warm, you can stick it back in the fridge.

Arrange cookies on a baking sheet 1 inch apart. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes before icing.

Royal Icing:

In bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat all of the icing ingredients together on high speed for 2 minutes. The icing is done when you can lift the whisk up and see ribbons that disappear within 10 seconds. If it’s too thick, add a little more lime juice. Divide icing into as many small bowls as you desire colors. Add small amounts of gel paste, thoroughly mixing before adding more. Pipe onto cookies ir use toothpicks. Add sprinkles!!!