← Nouns Cooking · Bakery

Ingredients

• 225 g unsalted butter, soft
• 200 g caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 375 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• ½ tsp Baking powder
• ¼ tsp Salt
• 250 g Icing sugar
• 3 tbsp lemon juice or water
• gel food colouring (optional)

Method

1. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy, about 2 min; do not whip in too much air or the cookies will spread. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
2. Mix in the flour, baking powder and salt on low until a soft dough forms. Divide in two, flatten into discs, wrap and chill for 1 hour.
3. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F) and line two baking trays. Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper to 5 mm thick and cut out shapes. Re-roll the scraps once.
4. Bake for 8–10 min until set and only just golden at the edges. Cool on the tray for 5 min, then on a rack until completely cold.
5. Mix the icing sugar with enough lemon juice to make a thick, smooth icing that holds a line, then tint it if you like. Spread or pipe onto the cookies and leave to set.

Tips

• If the cut shapes go soft, chill the tray for 10 minutes before baking for crisp edges.
• Un-iced cookies freeze well for up to 3 months.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Joy of Baking