Mothers get a day in May, Fathers get a day in June, it is only fitting that grandparents also get a day of their own. Since 1978, Grandparents Day has been celebrated the Sunday after Labor Day.
Grandparents play such an important role in children’s lives. I can recall many happy moments full of laughter and delicious food with my grandmothers. Where as parents are often the ones to discipline and mold us into upright adults, grandparents are there to shower us with never-ending love, support and hugs.
Take this Sunday to honor and acknowledge the grandparents in your life! What better way to show someone you care, than with sugar cookies?!
These sugar cookies are easy to make. The dough can be made ahead of time. Have fun decorating with the kids. Add personalized messages and drawings of your grandparents. And even if your grandparents don’t like cookies, these cookies can be dried out and made into Christmas tree ornaments.
This Sunday, remember to tell your Grammy and Pop-Pop how much they mean to you!
Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature, softened
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp tsp fine sea salt
Instructions:
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the sugar. Continue to mix until mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
2. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low, add the flour mixture in three additions. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing. Mix until dough comes together.
3. Divide the dough into two equal parts. Pat into a rectangle about 1 inch thick and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (and up to 24 hours).
4. Once the dough has chilled and you are ready to cut out cookie shapes, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
5. Unwrap dough and place on a lightly floured surface (or lightly floured parchment paper). Use a rolling pin to roll dough out to 1/4-inch thick. Have cookie cutter ready.
6. Dunk cookie cutter into flour and then use to cut dough into desired shapes. I used circle and heart shaped cookie cutters. Gently transfer cookie cutouts using a mini offset spatula to the prepared baking sheets.
7. If making more than one shape, place same shapes together on one sheet tray to ensure even baking. Space cookie cutouts at least 1 inch apart. Press any remaining cookie dough scraps together. If dough has warmed up too much, wrap dough and let chill in fridge for 5-10 minutes. Then, roll out and cut out additional cookies.
8. Bake cookies until lightly golden around the edges but still cream colored on the surface. For small cookies like the ones pictured above, it should take about 12-14 minutes. For larger cookies, bake for 16-18 minutes. Let cookies cool on the sheet tray for about 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cookies have cooled to room temperature, it’s time to decorate.
Royal Icing
Ingredients:
4 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
3 Tbsp meringue powder (I prefer to use Ateco Meringue Powder)
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine sifted confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, water, and vanilla. Mix on medium-low speed for about 5-7 minutes until icing is smooth and fluffy, yet thick.
2. For piping consistency, leave royal icing as is. For flood consistency, add water 1 tsp at a time to thin out icing. Soak a paper towel with water and wring out excess water. Place paper towel on the surface of royal icing and let sit until ready to use. If not using right away, cover with plastic wrap (over wet paper towel) and store in fridge for up to 5 days.
Decorating
1. Gather tools pictured above: red and black gel food paste, size 0 or 00 piping tip, three pastry bags (or plastic ziplock bags), and my favorite cookie decorating tool- squeeze bottles.
2. Divide prepared royal icing into three bowls. Cover one bowl with wet paper towel as you color the two other bowls. Add a couple of drops of black gel into one bowl and a couple drops of red gel into the other. Continue to add gel color until you get your desired hue. Cover bowls with wet paper towels until you are ready to use royal icing.
3. I began by decorating the heart cookies. Spoon red royal icing into a pastry bag fitted with a small piping tip. Cover the remaining red royal icing with a wet paper towel as you work, so the icing does not dry out.
4. Pipe the red icing around the edge of the cookie to form a border. It is best to do all the borders first before filling the cookie with color. That way, it gives the border just enough time to dry before you fill with color.
Thin out remaining red royal icing with water. Add 1 tsp of water at a time until icing is fluid. I like to use a squeeze bottle to flood the inside with royal icing. You could also use a pastry bag, zip-lock bag with a tip cut out, or a parchment paper cone. Pipe the icing in the middle of the cookie and let it run to the edges of the border. If necessary, use a toothpick to help drag out icing to the edges of the cookie. Also use the toothpick to pop any air bubbles that may have formed.
Use the same process of making a border and flooding with color for the round cookies using white royal icing.
5. Let flooded cookies rest and dry out for at least 1 hour before decorating with additional icing. Cover and refrigerator remaining royal icing while cookies are drying. Before use, stir royal icing vigorously until smooth. Once cookies have dried, decorate with black royal icing to pipe messages, pictures, or designs. Alternatively, you can also decorate the cookies with sanding sugar or sprinkles. Let cookies dry completely, at least 4 hours before storing in an airtight container.
Maryanne’s Chic Tip: This dough is perfect for holiday cooking making. If you want to get a head start, make a double or triple batch of the sugar cookie dough. The dough is good for up to one month frozen. Just defrost the frozen dough in the fridge overnight before using.
