Basic Iced Holiday Sugar Cookies

Method

1. Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). In large bowl, break up cookie dough; thoroughly work in flour. (DO NOT EAT RAW COOKIE DOUGH AFTER COMBINING WITH FLOUR.) Work with half of dough at a time, refrigerating remaining dough until needed.
2. On floured work surface, roll dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut with floured 2 1/2- to 3-inch holiday-shaped cookie cutters; place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.
3. Bake 8 to 11 minutes or until cookies are set and edges just begin to brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
4. In small bowl, mix icing sugar, vanilla and almond extract. Add enough milk until smooth and desired spreading consistency. Stir in food colour until well blended. Spread on cookies; sprinkle with candy sprinkles. Let stand until icing is set, about 15 minutes. Store between sheets of waxed paper in tightly covered container.

Expert Tips

• To make icing for outlining, transfer 1/2 cup of the icing mixture to a bowl, and add more icing sugar a tablespoon at a time until thick enough to pipe from a decorating bag. A small plastic squeeze bottle makes an excellent, mess-free replacement for a decorating bag.
• This cookie uses a simple recipe for sugar cookie icing rather than the traditional “royal icing” often used by professional bakers. Typically, royal icing is made with egg whites or meringue powder and is then beat with icing sugar and a few drops of water until the desired consistency is reached. Though our recipe doesn’t use egg whites, it still achieves a similar look to royal icing, and its consistency can be adjusted for outlining and filling so you can get the professional bakery-style look without the majority of the fuss.