Santa Hat Sugar Cookies

These Santa Hat Sugar Cookies just scream CHRISTMAS COOKIES. With the vibrant red royal icing, the adorable white icing and coconuts used to mimic the fur on Santa’s hat.

These cookies will absolutely be the first ones snapped up at your Christmas Party, the centerpiece of the Dessert table and your kids’ favorite cookie to set out with a tall glass of milk for Santa.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 1 batch Royal Icing for a hard, shiny finish or 1 batch of your favorite buttercream frosting (My favorite Royal Icing How To & Recipe is at the Bake at 350 Blog: Recipe follows)
• Red food coloring
• Flaked coconut and mini marshmallows (optional)

Instructions:

1. Using an electric mixer at medium-high speed, cream the butter, gradually adding the sugar. Beat in the egg until evenly mixed, then blend in the vanilla extract and salt. With a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the creamed ingredients about one third at a time, until evenly blended. The dough may seem soft, but it will firm up when refrigerated.
2. Divide the dough into thirds. Place each portion on a sheet of plastic wrap and, with floured hands, pat the dough into a rectangle about 3-1/2 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick. Wrap the dough and chill it for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, until cold but not rock hard.
3. Working atop a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper and using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough, 1 portion at a time, into a rectangle about 4-1/2 inches wide and a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Slide the dough, paper and all, onto a baking sheet and chill it for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 large cookie sheets.
4. Trim the long sides of the chilled dough and cut out triangles, (each triangle is 4-1/2 inches tall; triangles are cut in opposite directions along the length of dough)
5. Transfer the triangles to the baking sheet. Gently pinch the top of each hat to give it a jaunty little bend.
6. Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, for 10 to 13 minutes, until they just start to brown. Immediately remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the sheet for 2 minutes. Then use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool thoroughly. TIP: If you spread the cooled cookies on a baking sheet and freeze them for 15 minutes, they’ll be easier to handle when you frost them.
7. To decorate the cookies, divide the Royal Icing or buttercream frosting between 2 small bowls. Leave half white and color the rest red. With a butter knife, spread red icing on each cookie, leaving a wide uncovered hatband. Spread or pipe on white icing for the band and the tassel. If you like, gently press coconut onto the frosted band and a mini marshmallow onto the tassel. Makes 20 to 24 cookies.

Notes:

You’ll need a pastry bag if you opt to pipe rather than spread on the frosting trim.


Royal Icing(this will cover approximately 3 dozen 3.5 inch cookies)

1 pound powdered sugar
5 TBSP meringue powder
scant 1/2 c. water
a few drops of extract (optional)

Combine the meringue powder and water with a whisk attachment using an electric mixer. Beat until peaks begin to form. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat on low to combine. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form. (You should be able to remove the beater from the mixer and hold up and jiggle without the peak falling.) If using an extract, add it then beat for a few more seconds to incorporate.
Cover with plastic wrap touching the icing or divide and color using gel paste food colorings.

{The most important step: sift the powdered sugar! Believe me, I've tried to shortcut this step...it doesn't work. My favorite powdered sugars are Domino and C & H, but as you can see from the picture, any will do. Imperial is easier to find in the 1 pound boxes.}

This "stiff" icing is perfect for outlining and even for building gingerbread houses and monogramming. To fill in your cookies, add water to your icing a little at a time until it is the consistency of syrup.

Recipe Source: http://blissfullydomestic.com/2009/santa-hat-sugar-cookies