Do You Decorate Sugar Cookies Before Or After You Cook Them

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Christmas holiday decorated sugar cookies including snowmen, candy canes, Christmas trees, snowflakes, and stars

Baking saccharide cookies for Christmas? Allow me help! Today I'1000 sharing 5 like shooting fish in a barrel and approachable ways to decorate Christmas cookies. If you're intimidated or nervous near making royal icing and creating adorably festive sugar cookies, this postal service is for you lot.

Before we begin decorating, let's review my sugar cookie recipe. This recipe, pictured below as adorable little hearts, have slightly crisp edges and a dainty apartment surface for decorating. They accept a pronounced vanilla flavor, super soft heart, and taste unbelievable on their own.

Carbohydrate Cookie Dough

But seven ingredients: butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, blistering powder, table salt.

With then picayune ingredients, it's important that you utilise them all because each serves a very important purpose. Creamed butter + sugar makes the base of the cookie dough. This creates a buttery flavored foundation and incorporates air into the cookie dough, creating lighter textured cookies. Egg is the cookie's structure. Vanilla adds flavor. I also similar to add a bit of almond extract to brand these carbohydrate cookies taste extra special. It's optional, just I suggest you try information technology! Flour is an obvious addition, baking powder adds lift, salt balances the sweetness. So many *lilliputian ingredients* doing their *large jobs* to create a beautiful sugar cookie.

You tin can season with different extracts or spices, like cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. I actually prefer a pinch of cinnamon in them.

The dough is cypher out of the ordinary, but my method is unique.

The Method

This sugar cookie dough needs time in the fridge to solidify the butter and to guarantee the cookies hold their shape in the oven. Instead of chilling information technology as one massive chunk of dough (see above moving-picture show in the bowl!), roll the dough out and THEN chill it in the refrigerator. The dough is so much easier to whorl out earlier it'southward chilled. To make this even easier for you, divide the dough in 2 and then curl it out. It's much more manageable to work with in smaller portions.

I like to curl the dough out on a silicone blistering mat or parchment newspaper. Why?Since we volition arctic the rolled out dough in the refrigerator… are we going to just option up this rolled out mass of dough? No! Ringlet out on a nonstick surface that you tin can literally pick upwardly, put on a baking sheet, and place in the fridge.

A visual:

collage of sugar cookie dough process photos

I created a carve up post for my favorite royal icing. It'southward my favorite because it'south easy to work with, tastes cracking, sets quickly, and doesn't require raw egg whites. And, best of all, it doesn't have a hard cement-like texture– information technology won't break your teeth like other royal icings. If imperial icing isn't for yous and you still want to broil festive carbohydrate cookies this holiday season, endeavor my stained glass window cookies or drib style Christmas saccharide cookies.

Here is the carbohydrate cookie recipe written out for you. Beneath the recipe, you can see how to decorate each fun shape pictured today.

Description

You lot can make 5 super easy Christmas cookies with this extremely easy sugar cookie dough!

2 and ane/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
three/4 cup (1.5 sticks; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/four loving cup (150g) granulated sugar
ane large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
optional for flavor: 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
royal icing

Whisk the flour, baking pulverisation, and common salt together in a medium bowl. Prepare bated.
In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle zipper, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely polish and creamy, well-nigh 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond excerpt (if using) and beat on high speed until combined, virtually 1 minute. Scrape downwards the sides and upward the bottom of the basin and beat out once again as needed to combine.
Add together the dry ingredients to the moisture ingredients and mix on low until combined. If the dough seems as well soft, you can add 1 Tablespoon more flour until it is a better consistency for rolling.
Divide the dough into two equal parts. Roll each portion out onto a piece of parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone blistering mat (I adopt the nonstick silicone mat) to about 1/iv-inch thickness. The rolled-out dough can exist any shape, as long equally it is evenly i/four-inch thick.
Stack the pieces, with parchment paper between the two, onto a blistering sheet and refrigerate for at least ane-2 hours and upwardly to 2 days. If chilling for more than than a couple hours, cover the elevation dough piece with a unmarried piece of parchment paper.
Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 large blistering sheets with parchment paper or silicone blistering mats. Remove one of the dough pieces from the refrigerator and cut into shapes with cookie cutter(s). Re-curl the remaining dough and proceed cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd dough piece.
Arrange cookies on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Broil for 11-12 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Brand certain you rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow cookies to cool on the blistering sheet for five minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. I like to decorate cookies directly on baking sheets and so I can stick the unabridged blistering sheet in the refrigerator to help set the icing. So place the cooled cookies back on blistering sheets.
Decorate with royal icing.
Savour cookies right away or wait until the icing sets to serve them. In one case the icing has fix, these cookies are groovy for gifting or for sending. Plain or decorated cookies stay soft for most v days when covered tightly at room temperature. For longer storage, embrace and refrigerate for upwards to ten days.

Notes

Freezing Instructions: Patently or decorated sugar cookies freeze well upward to 3 months. Wait for the icing to fix completely before layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Yous can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months before rolling it out. Set up the dough through step 3, split in half, flatten both halves into a disk equally we do with pie crust, wrap each in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw the disks in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature for virtually ane hour. Whorl out the dough every bit directed in footstep iv, then arctic every bit directed in footstep five– no demand to arctic for i-two hours, 45 minutes should exist plenty.
Almond Excerpt: I love flavoring this cookie dough with 1/2 teaspoon almond extract equally listed in the ingredients above. For lighter season, use ane/4 teaspoon.
Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | Rolling Pin | Christmas Cookie Cutter Set | Silpat Baking Mat | Cookie Canvas | Cooling Rack | Meringue Powder | Americolor Gel Paste Kit | Pipage Bags (Reusable or Disposable) | Couplers | Round #2 Piping Tip | Round #4 Pipe Tip
Be sure to check out my elevation 5 cookie blistering tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie blistering tools.

Keywords: decorate sugar cookies

Time to Decorate!

Hither's what I've learned about decorating sugar cookies: set your expectations appropriately. Start basic and go from there. With each batch, you will improve.

*Employ my royal icing recipe. Icing volition completely set in about two hours at room temperature. If you're layering royal icing onto cookies for specific designs and demand it to set quickly, place cookies in the refrigerator to speed information technology up.

Here's what yous need:

cookie cutters – I love this set. It has a snowflake, gingerbread man, Christmas tree, snowman, and more!
couplers – only needed if you're using the aforementioned icing color, only need to switch tips.
piping bags – I prefer the 16 inch size for decorating.
gel food coloring – get the whole fix. I honey these colors for purple icing, cake batter, frosting, etc. They're high pigmented so you don't need as much coloring.
round pipe tips

I don't create intricate designs on my cookies because (ane) I'k bad at it and (ii) my easily are too shaky. I prefer a basic arroyo and for that, y'all only need a couple piping tips. I ever use Wilton piping tip #4 for outlining and flooding the cookie with icing. This is a wonderful basic piping tip to have in your collection. For any detail, I employ a thinner round tip like Wilton piping tip #one (super thin), Wilton piping tip #ii (a little larger), or Wilton piping tip #3 (a little larger than that).

one. Christmas Copse

greenish + brownish + red nutrient coloring (link)
piping pocketbook (link)
piping tip #5 and #3 (link and link)

Add together 1/two teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the cookie dough with the dry ingredients. (Optional, just delicious!!) Tint three/4 of the icing green until you reach your desired shade. With the remaining 1/4 of the icing, tint half brown and the other one-half red. *Remember, colors always dry darker!

To create three "tiers" on your trees, pipage the center of the Christmas tree with piping tip #5. Allow to fix. Pipe the tiptop and bottom of the Christmas tree with piping tip #5. If you lot take star sprinkles, carefully place ane at the top. Allow to prepare. Pipage the brown tree trunk with pipe tip #v. Pipage red dots with pipage tip #3.

Non interested in the "tiers"? Just outline and alluvion the whole tree with pipage tip #5. Let that gear up. So pipe the tree trunk and cherry-red dots on peak.

candy cane and snowman decorated sugar cookies for the holidays

two. Striped Candy Canes

red food coloring (link)
pipe pocketbook (link)
piping tip #5 and #three (link and link)

These are easier than yous think, I hope. Tint i/3 of the icing carmine until you reach your desired shade. Think, ruby-red icing dries darker– so don't become overboard with the nutrient coloring. Outline and overflowing the unabridged candy pikestaff white with pipe tip #5. Before letting that set, pipe diagonal red lines on meridian with pipe tip #iii. Run a toothpick around the white edge. The toothpick will elevate the red to create the "swirly" look.

decorated snowman and snowflake sugar cookies

iii. Snowman

ruby, black + orange food coloring (link)
piping pocketbook (link)
pipe tip #v and #ane (link and link)

Gather 3 small bowls. Spoon 1/iv cup of icing into each bowl. Keep the rest of the icing white. Stir red food coloring into one bowl until you reach your desired shade. Stir black nutrient coloring into another bowl until yous reach your desired shade. (I detect that blackness e'er dries darker so stop adding coloring when you achieve a dark gray.) Stir orangish nutrient coloring into the last basin until you reach your desired shade. Outline and flood the entire snowmen white with piping tip #5. (Leave room for the black chapeau!) Allow to set. Using this same pipe tip, pipage the scarf with reddish icing on acme of the white icing. Using pipage tip #1, pipage the hat, eyes, and buttons with black icing. Using this aforementioned piping tip, pipe the nose with orange icing.

iv. Snowflakes

pipage bag (link)
pipe tip #five or #4 (link or link)

Using a round piping tip (pipe tip #four or #5 are perfect), pipe a simple snowflake design on the cookie. I placed a big blueish sprinkles bead in the eye and sprinkled white sparkling sugar on summit so they expect snowy!

star and Christmas tree decorated sugar cookies

5. Stars

piping handbag (link)
pipe tip #5 (link)

Easiest of the agglomeration. These are my maple cinnamon star cookies topped with the purple icing. Outline and alluvion the entire star white with piping tip #5. Top with sprinkles.