Makes 2 to 3 dozen cookies, depending on size
WHEN YOU HAVE SMALL CHILDREN AT CHRISTMASTIME, COOKIE BAKING IS INEVITABLE. It’s as though they come out of the womb expecting to bake cookies come December 1. And they can’t just be any cookies. They have to be decorated, iced cookies, rolled and shaped with cutters dug from the nether regions of one’s pantry. They are complicated cookies that cause as much mess as delight, between the flour and the icing and the sprinkles, applied with absolutely no technique whatsoever. The whole process equates to mere minutes of chaotic fun. And yet, we let them do it every year, because childhood memories. It’s best just to let it happen, and having a good, foolproof recipe like this one means the resulting cookies will taste great, even if they all end up looking like the business end of a piñata.
2¼ cups/288 g unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for dusting
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup/113 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup/200 g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1⅓ cups/160 g confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon meringue powder, or 1 large egg white
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon water
Various food colorings, sanding sugars, jimmies, etc., for decorating
Prepare the cookies: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the flour mixture until the dough is soft and smooth. Gather the dough into a ball and pat it into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour, or up to 3 days in the refrigerator and 6 months in the freezer.
Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 375°F/190°C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Lightly flour a work surface. Working with half of the dough at a time, roll it out to about ¼-inch/6 mm thick. Cut into your desired shapes with cookie cutters and place on the prepared baking sheets. Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating the sheet halfway through baking time, until the cookies just begin to turn golden on the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare the icing: In a medium bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder or egg white, vanilla (if using), and 2 tablespoons of water. With a handheld mixer, beat on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Stir in 1 more teaspoon of water—the icing should be thick enough to be controlled, but still thin enough to spread cleanly across the surface of a cookie without leaving a track when spread. If necessary, add a bit more water to thin the icing.
Ice the cooled cookies and decorate as desired. Allow the icing to dry completely before storing in an airtight container for up to 1 week.