Spooky-Sweet Bat Sugar Cookies
Servings: 18 cookies
Ingredients
The Cookie Dough
- 2 ⅛ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅛ cup cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (beaten & room temp)
- a splash of milk (beaten into the egg)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 bat-shaped cookie cutter
The Royal Icing/Decoration
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp meringue powder
- 4 to 6 tbsp water (room temp)
- your choice colors of sanding sugar
- a squeeze bottle or piping bag
Instructions
The Cookie Dough
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder & salt.
- Throw the softened butter & sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer (w/ paddle attachment). Mix on medium-high for 3 to 5 minutes, until pale, light & super fluffy.
- Add the beaten egg/milk & vanilla extract into the stand mixer bowl. Mix for another minute on medium-high.
- Add the dry ingredients to the stand mixer bowl. Mix on slow JUST until combined into a smooth dough (be careful not to over-mix).
- Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper & spoon half of the dough onto it. Form the dough into a ball & ~gently~ roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick. Set aside.
- Repeat for the other half of dough, then sandwich a piece of plastic wrap between the two sheets, wrap it all in plastic & chill in the fridge for at least 1 to 2 hours (or up to two days).
- Once ready, pre-heat the oven to 350°F & remove the two dough sheets from the fridge.
- Line room-temp baking sheets with parchment paper & start cutting out the bats. Transfer each cookie onto one of the baking sheets, one to two inches apart.
- Bake each sheet for 9 to 11 minutes until the cookies start to ~lightly~ brown around the edges (better to under- than over-bake them).
- Remove the cookies from the oven & let them cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet. Then transfer each cookie onto a wire rack to fully cool.
The Royal Icing/Decoration
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together by hand the powdered sugar, meringue powder & water for about five minutes.
- Test the consistency of the icing: when you lift the whisk up, the icing should drizzle back down into the bowl & smooth out within 10 seconds. If it's too thick, add a ~touch~ more water. If it's too thin, add some additional sugar.
- OPTIONAL: add a few drops of gel food coloring to match your sanding sugars!
- Load the icing into a squeeze bottle or piping bag & ice each completely cooled cookie.
- Sprinkle on the sanding sugar while the icing is still wet, then let dry before devouring. Or don't - just go for it.