Guess what – I got another idea for a Mother’s Day gift you could make to surprise your mom on Sunday. Something floral but no flowers (they look much better in the garden anyway). Today I got some delicious sugar cookies with floral royal icing decorations. The perfect Mother’s Day DIY project that will put a smile on your mothers face for sure ;)
If you’ve been here on the blog lately you might have noticed that I’ve been publishing some recipes for Mother’s Day last week. I wanted to give you some options on what to prepare for your mom – we’re in the middle of a pandemic and this means most of us spend more time at home with a lot of time to cook and bake ;) So why not bake something nice, right? The Raspberry Cheesecake Charlotte or the Japanese Strawberry Shortcake Cake might not be perfect for everyone – especially not for beginners. So why not make something slightly easier? It’s “Cookie Friday” today, so cookies are the perfect option here ;)
Easier does not mean less time-consuming though. These little fellas here have to dry for several hours before you can gift them to someone ;P In case you want to give them to your mom “last minute”, you might want to hurry up a bit to get them ready in time. In general, though, the cookies are really easy to prepare. A simple sugar cookie dough you could also use for other cookies, plus a quick and easy royal icing to decorate the cookies. That’s it. Plus some time for juggling the piping bags around for the flower decorations and you got yourself a nice Mother’s Day gift ;)
By the way, I used meringue powder for the royal icing. Some people don’t like to work with fresh egg whites when making royal icing. Using the meringue powder instead is super easy and safe – no salmonella ;) If you don’t have the powder at hand or in case you are fine with “real” egg whites, you can, of course, prepare some royal icing with fresh egg whites.
When preparing the royal icing – with the powder or egg whites – make sure you get the right consistency. The icing should be very thick and feel more like frosting instead of a thick but runny icing. Somewhat like a buttercream frosting. It has to be thick enough to keep its shape when you pipe the decorations onto the cookies. So when mixing the confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder (or egg white) I recommend adding not all of the water at once. Go slow until the consistency is right.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the cookies:
1 3/4 cups (220g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (70g) confectioners‘ sugar
1 pinch of salt
2/3 cup (150g) cold butter
1 small egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
For the royal icing:
10.6 oz. (300g) confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. meringue powder*
1.7 fl. oz. (50ml) water, plus maybe more for thinning the icing
some drops of lemon or vanilla flavor (optional)
food colors (e.g. pink, purple, yellow, and green)*
Für die Cookies:
220g Mehl (Type 405)
70g Puderzucker
1 Prise Salz
150g kalte Butter
1 Ei (S)
1/2 TL Vanille Extrakt
Für das Royal Icing:
300g Puderzucker
2 EL Eiweißpulver*
50ml Wasser, plus ggf. etwas mehr
ein paar Tropfen Zitrone- oder Vanille-Aroma (optional)
Lebensmittelfarben (.z.B. Pink, Lila, Gelb und Grün)*
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside. Divide the dough in half (keep one half in the fridge) and roll out thinly on a lightly floured surface. Use a round or heart cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Collect leftover dough and roll out again. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes – the cookies should not get much of a color. Take out of the oven and let cool down on the baking sheet for some time, then transfer to a wire rack to cool down completely. Bake more cookies with the remaining dough sitting in the fridge.
3. For the royal icing add the confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder to a large bowl and mix to combine. Gradually add some of the water and the flavoring (optional) and mix with a handheld mixer or your kitchen machine. At first, the mix will probably have a texture like wet sand or streusel but the more water you add the more it will look like buttercream/frosting. Be careful not to add too much water or the icing will get runny – you want a thick texture that will keep its shape when you pipe it onto the cookies. Mix for 2-3 minutes until everything is well combined. Do not overwork your hand mixer though. Some will have problems with the thick consistency of the icing.
4. Color the royal icing with different food colors and fill it into piping bags with very small piping tips (star-shaped and for leaves). Decorate the cooled cookies with rosettes, dots, and leaves. Since the icing dries quite quickly, it is best to use one piping bag/color at a time, work on several cookies in one run, and keep the other piping bags (especially the tips) covered with a damp paper towel. Let the finished cookies dry for at least 8 hours.
2. Den Ofen auf 175°C (350°F) vorheizen. Ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen. Den Teig halbieren und auf einer leicht bemehlten Fläche dünn ausrollen (Rest im Kühlschrank lassen). Mit einem runden oder Herz-Ausstecher Kekse ausstechen und auf das vorbereitete Blech setzen – Teigreste sammeln und erneut ausrollen. Für etwa 10 Minuten backen – die Kekse sollten kaum Farbe bekommen haben. Aus dem Ofen holen und erst auf dem Blech kurz abkühlen lassen und dann auf einem Kuchengitter komplett abkühlen lassen. Mit dem restlichen Teig noch mehr Kekse backen.
3. Für das Royal Icing den Puderzucker mit dem Eiweißpulver in einer großen Schüssel vermischen. Etwas Wasser und ein paar Tropfen Aroma (optional) dazugeben und mit einem Handmixer oder der Küchenmaschine verrühren. Zu Anfang wird es erst nach Streuseln aussehen, dann einfach nach und nach mehr Wasser dazugeben, aber vorsichtig, damit ihr plötzlich nicht zu viel Wasser im Icing habt – die Masse sollte recht zäh sein, ähnlich wie eine Buttercreme und nicht verlaufen. Für etwa 2-3 Minuten mixen – überanstrengt euren Handmixer aber nicht. Manche Handmixer haben Probleme mit so einer festen Konsistenz.
4. Das Icing dann mit verschiedenen Lebensmittelfarben einfärben und in Spritzbeutel mit sehr kleinen Sterntüllen etc. einfüllen. Die abgekühlten Kekse dann mit Tupfern, Rosetten und Blättern dekorieren. Da das Icing recht schnell trocknet, bearbeitet am besten mit einer Farbe erst einmal mehrere Cookies deckt den Rest der Spritzbeuteltüllen mit einem feuchten Küchenpapier ab. Die fertigen Cookies mindestens 8 Stunden trocknen lassen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Easy Floral Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing for Mother’s Day
- Prep Time: 00:45
- Cook Time: 00:10
- Total Time: 10:00
- Yield: 40 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: America
Description
How about some nice decorated cookies for your mom for Mother’s Day instead of flowers? I bet your mom will love them :)
Ingredients
For the cookies:
1 3/4 cups (220g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (70g) confectioners‘ sugar
1 pinch of salt
2/3 cup (150g) cold butter
1 small egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
For the royal icing:
10.6 oz. (300g) confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. meringue powder*
1.7 fl. oz. (50ml) water, plus maybe more for thinning the icing
some drops of lemon or vanilla flavor (optional)
food colors (e.g. pink, purple, yellow, and green)*
Instructions
1. Add the flour, confectioners‘ sugar, and salt to a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the cold butter in small pieces and cut into even smaller pieces with a pastry blender*. Whisk the egg and add together with the vanilla extract to the bowl – mix with a fork first, then knead with your hands to get a nice smooth dough. Try to work quickly so the butter is not melting. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside. Divide the dough in half (keep one half in the fridge) and roll out thinly on a lightly floured surface. Use a round or heart cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Collect leftover dough and roll out again. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes – the cookies should not get much of a color. Take out of the oven and let cool down on the baking sheet for some time, then transfer to a wire rack to cool down completely. Bake more cookies with the remaining dough sitting in the fridge.
3. For the royal icing add the confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder to a large bowl and mix to combine. Gradually add some of the water and the flavoring (optional) and mix with a handheld mixer or your kitchen machine. At first, the mix will probably have a texture like wet sand or streusel but the more water you add the more it will look like buttercream/frosting. Be careful not to add too much water or the icing will get runny – you want a thick texture that will keep its shape when you pipe it onto the cookies. Mix for 2-3 minutes until everything is well combined. Do not overwork your hand mixer though. Some will have problems with the thick consistency of the icing.
4. Color the royal icing with different food colors and fill it into piping bags with very small piping tips (star-shaped and for leaves). Decorate the cooled cookies with rosettes, dots, and leaves. Since the icing dries quite quickly, it is best to use one piping bag/color at a time, work on several cookies in one run, and keep the other piping bags (especially the tips) covered with a damp paper towel. Let the finished cookies dry for at least 8 hours.
Notes
Enjoy baking!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
