Jump to recipe
Yields:
18
Prep Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs
Looking to wow people at the Christmas cookie swap this year? Look no further than these gorgeous cookies. We know, it sounds like an oxymoron, but these stunners truly redefine "ugly sweater." These are nearly too pretty to eat, so perhaps pair them with our Italian rainbow cookies, Santa's trash cookies, and snowball cookies so people still have something sweet to eat while they marvel at your sugar cookie art.
You'll start by making a simple sugar cookie dough and cutting it into a sweater shape. Once baked, you'll make royal icing that can be colored as many ways as you like. Red, white, and green are a great place to start. Use the pictures here to guide you, or try to re-create your go-to ugly sweater.
Here are some tips for the most successful cookie making:
• Roll the dough out between sheets of parchment before chilling. This ensures a nice and smooth dough with an even thickness.
• You can reroll dough scraps once to get more cookies, but the dough will become a bit tough after that.
• Make sure cookies are well chilled before going into the oven so they hold their shape.
• To make webbing designs like the cookie second from the left on the top row, pipe rows of icing onto the flooded cookies while they're still wet, then drag a toothpick through the rows.
• You'll use meringue powder to make the icing for these cookies. It's made mostly of dried egg whites (rather than raw egg white, which isn't super food-safe) and is a great shortcut product for whisking up cookie icing. You can find it at your local baking supply or craft stores.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3 cups
(360 g.) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1 tsp.
baking powder
- 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
- 1 cup
(2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup
(200 g.) granulated sugar
- 1
large egg
- 1 Tbsp.
whole milk
- 1 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
Royal Icing & Decoration
- 1/4 cup
meringue powder
- 5 Tbsp.
(or more) water
- 4 cups
(460 g.) powdered sugar
Food coloring and sprinkles, for decorating (optional)
Directions
Cookies
- Step 1In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and granulated sugar until fluffy and pale in color, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until combined, then gradually add dry ingredients and beat, scraping down sides of bowl if needed, until fully combined.
- Step 2Divide dough in half and roll each piece between 2 pieces of lightly floured parchment to a scant 1/4"-thick round. Transfer to a large baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Step 3Preheat oven to 350° and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut out shapes from dough with a 4" sweater-shaped cookie cutter. Arrange on prepared sheets, spacing 1" apart. Freeze 5 minutes.
- Step 4Bake cookies until edges are lightly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
Royal Icing & Decoration
- Step 1In a large bowl, using electric mixer on medium speed, beat meringue powder and water until frothy and starting to stiffen, about 1 minute.
- Step 2Add powdered sugar and beat on medium speed until smooth and thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add more water 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed, until icing holds its shape without being too stiff to work with. If only using one color, add desired food coloring and beat well to incorporate.
- Step 3To make icing for flooding, transfer three-quarters of icing to a medium bowl. Add water 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. It should hold its shape for a couple of seconds, then start to slowly melt into itself.
- Step 4If desired, whisk a few drops of food coloring(s) into remaining icing, dividing into smaller batches for multiple colors.
- Step 5Transfer icings to separate piping bags fitted with a small round tip or resealable plastic bags with a very small hole snipped in one corner.
- Step 6Working with a few at a time, using thicker icing, outline edges of cookies. Fill in centers with thinner icing. Using a toothpick, spread icing to outlined edges. Let stand until icing hardens, about 30 minutes.
- Step 7Using thicker icing, pipe collars, buttons, buckles, etc., onto sweaters. Press sprinkles onto sweaters, if using.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below