Personalized Sugar Cookies

A great friend of mine is getting married soon and I wanted to add some personal touches to her Bachelorette weekend. A friend from work let me borrow a martini glass and a diamond ring cookie cutter (www.cookiecutter.com). They provided the perfect personalized touch that I was looking for. I used a sugar cookie recipe from All Recipes.com and an icing recipe from my friend Danielle. The cookie dough was a little difficult to work with. If I made these again, I would chill the dough overnight. I was concerned with the cookies spreading, but everything worked out. Make sure to let the cookies cool completely before putting the icing on.

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely

Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:
2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.