Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

For the cookies:

In a bowl whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).

Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a generously floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness you like (keep in mind, that cookies will rise a little bit, while baking). Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to a baking sheet that you’ve lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining section of dough once you’ve finished the first.

Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill the dough. Bake cookies for about 8-10 minutes (depending on size) or until the edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the royal icing:

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Once combined add 200 grams of sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat on low speed until smooth. Divide the icing in 1/3 and 2/3 parts. Add the remaining 100 grams of sifted sugar into the 1/3 part and beat until smooth. This part will be thicker and we will use it to outline our cookies and to write on them. To get the right consistency, add more sugar or a bit of water, if necessary. Add food coloring, if desired. Pour each part of the icing into separate disposable pastry bags, cut a tiny corner off of each bag.

Frost the cookies:

Using thicker icing, outline all your cookies and let them dry. Now using the runny icing, fill in the outlined cookies. You can spread the icing using a toothpick or a rubber spatula. Let them dry completely. Using thicker icing write or draw something beautiful on the cookies. Let them dry overnight, pack or store in an airtight container.