Merry Christmas Sugar Cookies

Of course, there have to be sugar cookies for the last of the holiday baking.

This year, because I was mailing many of my cookies away, I decided to go simple, and sturdy. I went with all circles to decorate. I apologize for slacking and not doing many how-to photos.

What You Need:
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe
Round Cookie Cutter or Biscuit Cutters
Royal Icing Recipe
Gel-based icing colors
Zip-top sandwich baggies
Optional:
Piping Bags
Tips #1, 2, or 3
Plastic Wrap for Icing Bag Bullets
Pearl Dust

For the ornament cookies, I simply used the "scraps" of dough between the circles when I cut them out, and trimmed them to a square-ish shape.

Then I used the round cutter of the circle I was going to add it to, to make the outline meet up.

Press them together gently before placing the cookies in the freezer, and they should stick together. I didn't have any break while I was decorating.

Click this link for a complete tutorial on how to make the royal icing, how to get the outline consistency right, how to color the icing, and how to make the icing "flood in" like you see below.

To decorate the ornament cookies, start with your outline. Let it set for a little while. Then, flood in the color. To add the sparkle, brush dry pearl dust over the cookie with a food-safe paintbrush.
To make the top look gold, mix a few drops of clear vanilla extract with gold pearl dust, gently brush it on the icing. Don't allow your paintbrush to get too wet or your icing will get super tacky.
The patterned one is easier than you think. Just pipe lines of another color of flooding icing across the still wet icing, then use a toothpick to go in one direction, through the lines, then in the opposite direction through the lines. I think they're pretty.

To make the cookies like the Christmas tree, holly leaves or the snowman scene, start will all of your outlines.

For the Christmas tree, I outlined the circle cookie and the tree's triangle using a tip #2. I used brown in a tip #3 to make the trunk. I let that set for 15-20 minutes before I flooded in the red and the green. Add the ornament dots while the green is still wet to make them "melt" into the tree -- or wait until it's dried a bit if you want the ornaments to stick out. Add the yellow star (using tip #16 or 18) when the green and red have set a bit.
I did brush this one with pearl dust in the end, too, to add some sparkle, but I forgot to take a new picture.

For the Snowman, it was about the same... Add all of the white outlines using tip #2 first. (You can add the black hat outline before you flood or after, either is good.) Let set for 15-20 minutes. Then flood the blue and white areas. Add the white snow drops while the blue is still wet. You can add the other outlines (using a tip #1 or #2) as soon as you want. They'll "melt in" a little if you add them while the icing is still wet. But sometimes the black can also bleed if you add them too early. I did not have that problem this time, but it does happen.
I also brushed this guy with pearl dust after it dried. The sparkle was a nice touch.

Okay, so that's it for me this Season of Baking! You won't hear from me again until after Christmas. Enjoy the holiday, however you may spend it!