Shamrock Cookies

Soft Honey Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

*3/4 cup Butter or Shortening
*1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
*3 tablespoons Honey
*1 cup Whipping Cream or Canned Milk or (1/2 cup Sour Cream and 1/2 Cup Milk)
*1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
*1 teaspoon Salt
*4 cups All-purpose Flour
*4 teaspoons Baking Powder

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350*F.

Cream together in stand mixer: Butter, sugar, honey, cream, vanilla and salt

Whisk together in bowl: Flour and baking powder

Combine in stand mixer and mix well and (scrapping down the sides of the bowl occasionally) forms a soft dough ball.

Hint: Refrigeration of the dough will always make the cookies roll, cut and cook a little better; also using a cooled baking sheet with each batch of cookies helps too!

Roll out cookie dough using half the dough at a time, so not to over work the dough and cut cookies with a round cookie cutter or cookie cutter of your choice.

Place cookies on a Silpat covered half baking sheet or cookie sheet of your choice sprayed with cooking spray or covered with parchment paper.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or when edges barely start to turn brown. Also depends on the size of cookie.

Hint: I’ve always usually mixed my cookies by hand but my daughter is a pastry chef and mixes everything in stand mixer but either way works great!

Glacé Icing:  this is not Royal Icing

Ingredients:

*1/2 cup Water

*4 tablespoons Meringue Powder

 *7 to 8 Cups Powdered Sugar

*1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract

*1 teaspoon Almond Extract 

*2 tablespoons Butter Flavored Shortening

*2 tablespoons Light Corn Syrup

Instructions:

In a stand mixer with whisk attachment add the water and meringue, on medium speed whisk the mixture about 1 minute and then turn to high-speed and whisk until mixture makes peaks.  

Then add 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix on medium-low speed until combined then add vanilla, almond extracts, shortening and light corn syrup.  Gradually add the remaining powdered sugar until combined.  Then test icing by taking a spoon and check consistency it should slowly come of the spoon.  For thinning icing add small drops of water and to thicken add more powdered sugar, but the consistency is best on the thicker side and then thin with water as needed.  Note:  You will know if the icing is to thin, it will run off the sides of the cookie, test on one cookie first.  If to thick icing won’t pipe well.

Coloring Icing:

Divide the icing into bowls, the number of bowls depends on how many colors you want to use. Add drops of food coloring until desired color. Repeat for each color see colors above.  Note: Leave some of the icing white for decorating.

Add icing to decorating bags with tips or you can use disposable decorating bags and cut of the very end of the tips of the bag cutting small pieces at a time to get the size of hole you desire for piping.

Fill piping bags 2/3 full, then pipe on icing, make an outline using a decorating bag with a small tip or a drip bottle with a small tip.  Make a line of icing all around the edge of the cookie. Then use a slightly bigger round tip and flood the center of the cookie until filled.  Repeat for each cookie.

Note:  Make sure to let each of the colored icing set be for adding the dots/next color.

Tips:

*To color your icing, you can use Wilton colorings or use your desired brand.  I used Green Found at Walmart.

*Allow iced cookies to set 24 hours before storing in an airtight container.  

*I usually make my cookies a day or two before icing them.  You can also freeze cookies after baking and they have cooled completely.  When ready to use remove cookies from the freezer and allow the cookies to come to room temperature before icing.

Icing Recipe adapted from The Decorated Cookie

Enjoy!

Lindy