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Snowflake cookies with royal icing and sprinkles on a table.

Snowflake cookies (1 bowl, 5 ingredients, no chill) 

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 22 cookies
Dessert
American
Keyword Snowflake Cookies

Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (12.5 oz per batch - weight method strongly recommended)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 cup salted butter softened and cut in cubes
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest finely grated or 1/2 tsp lemon extract (optional)
  • 1 batch royal icing

For royal icing

  • 3 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 4 tsp meringue powder
  • 5 tbsp water (plus more as needed)
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Add flour, sugar and salt to bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed for about 30 seconds to combine and aerate the ingredients.
  • Add the butter and beat on low speed to incorporate. Gradually increase speed to medium-high as the butter breaks up, then beat until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  • Add egg, vanilla and lemon zest (if using). Beat on medium-high until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. If you have a strong mixer, the dough may come together on its own. If not, dump the crumb-like mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper and gently press and knead it together into a disc.
  • Roll dough out between sheets of parchment paper to 1/4” thickness.
  • Dip cookie cutters in flour, then cut shapes out of dough. Use a floured offset spatula to lift the dough cut-outs and transfer to prepared baking sheets.
  • Bake in center of oven. For 3” cookie shapes, bake 10-12 minutes or until very edges start to turn golden and middles look less shiny. Add 1 minute more for every 1” larger cookie size (or the cookie will have a raw flour taste in the middle).

For royal icing

  • Combine all ingredients in bowl of stand mixer and beat on low speed until the sugar is all moistened, then increase speed and beat for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
  • Add more water 1/2 tsp at a time until you can run a spatula through the icing and it settles back to flat in about 10-15 seconds
  • Dip cookies one at a time in the frosting by holding onto the edges and dipping just the surface. Let excess icing drip back into the bowl before quickly flipping the cookie and placing it on the counter.
  • Gently hold the edges of the cookie and give it a quick back-and-forth shake on the countertop until the surface is smooth. You can go in with a toothpick or the tip of a paring knife to pull the frosting into any gaps and details of the outline.
  • Add sprinkles if using, then let icing dry for at least 8 hours before packing the cookies into containers.

Video

Notes

  • Royal icing recipe with egg whites instead of meringue powder here: https://foodess.com/royal-icing-recipe/
  • This recipe yields about 20 snowflake cookies with a 3” cutter. You may double or triple this recipe as you like.
  • Double the salt in the mixture if you wish to substitute unsalted butter.
  • It's often easiest to press the cookie cutter into the dough and then remove the dough scraps from around the cuts you made, leaving your shapes behind on the parchment paper (rather than trying to lift your shapes out of the dough).
  • Allow your royal icing to set for eight hours before packing them into containers. You can eat them sooner than that, but you don't want to crush your icing by loading the cookies up before they're completely dry.
  • After you've rolled it a couple of times, the butter may get softer. If you're finding it tricky to easily lift the dough shapes pop the whole thing in the freezer for a few minutes.
  • Slide a rimless baking sheet under your rolled-out dough and pop the whole thing in the freezer for a bit if you're finding it hard to lift the shapes out.

Nutrition

Calories: 112kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 1gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 38mgPotassium: 15mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 193IUCalcium: 5mgIron: 1mg
Keyword Snowflake Cookies