Well folks, its almost here – the big 2-5. On the fateful day of January 9, I will be a quarter of a century old and lack the wisdom I probably should have by now. In honor of my aging, which I dread celebrating (but love any excuse to bake), I brought back some of my favorites – coconut sugar cookies. Naturally, I cut them into an “A” and added plenty of sparkle. These are easy and delicious and sure to please any birthday girl.
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 2 c flour (and extra for rolling)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 stick unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 c granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tbs cream
- 3/4 tsp coconut extract
Coconut Royal Icing:
- 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 5 tbs Meringue Powder
- Water
- 1 tbs coconut extract
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In medium bowl, combine dry ingredients.
-
In mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, cream, and extract, and mix until well blended. Slowly add in flour mixture.
-
Remove dough from mixer and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour.
-
On a floured work surface, roll out dough to even thickness. Use cookie cutters (sprayed with PAM) of your choice. Place cookies on sheet, they should not spread much so leave about 1/2 inch between each.
-
Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden, but do not allow to brown.
- Cookies will need to cool completely before icing.
Coconut Royal Icing
In your electric mixer on low speed, combine sugar and meringue powder. Add 1/2 c water and coconut extract. See the consistency notes below, you will need to adjust for what your purpose is.
- A thicker consistency is generally used for outlining and details. Mix until icing is thick but loosens after a moment.
- For a thinner consistency, usually used for flooding, add more water.
- Separate the plain white base into several small bowls for coloring, and garnish with any sprinkles, dusts, and colors you’d like!
