Bake and Decorate Exquisite High-Heel Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Happy Valentine’s Day to all! Whether you’re celebrating with a cherished significant other, a beloved best friend, or your wonderful family, I hope your day is filled with joy, love, and perhaps a touch of sweet indulgence. Today, I’m thrilled to share a special baking adventure that started with a unique request: crafting elegant high-heel shoe sugar cookies for a friend’s event. While I admit my past experiences with cut-out sugar cookies haven’t always been seamless (you can read about my previous struggles with a no-roll frosted sugar cookie recipe here), I accepted the challenge with enthusiasm. This project also presented a perfect opportunity to revisit royal icing, a medium I hadn’t truly engaged with in nearly seven months since my last attempt (learn more about that here).

To my pleasant surprise, these cookies turned out exceptionally well! The dough was remarkably cooperative, a dream to work with, and even after multiple re-rolls, it maintained its integrity beautifully. The resulting cookies were wonderfully soft, providing an ideal canvas for the vibrant royal icing. I experimented with a new royal icing recipe this time, though it still produced an astounding quantity. Perhaps the third time will be the charm, and I’ll finally remember to halve the recipe, even when decorating a large batch of around 90 cookies!

Mastering the Art of Cut-Out Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

If you’re seeking a sugar cookie recipe that consistently yields soft, tender cookies that hold their intricate shapes flawlessly, look no further. This recipe is a true gem. Furthermore, if you’ve been hesitant to try royal icing, this particular formulation is incredibly straightforward to prepare, making it perfect for beginners. I’m still refining my technique for thinning the icing to achieve various consistencies, and my next step is to invest in clear plastic squeeze bottles. I anticipate these will be far more manageable than traditional pastry bags, helping me avoid those frustrating moments when icing “poops out” the top, even when secured with a rubber band. But enough talk about logistics – let’s admire these adorable shoe cookies! I believe they turned out quite nicely. While I truly hit my stride and quickened my pace only on the very last tray, I’ve gathered invaluable insights into what works best, and I’m eager to share my top tips to help you achieve decorating success right from the start.

4.67 from 6 ratings

Classic Cut-Out Sour Cream Sugar Cookies Recipe

Created by
Amber Brady

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Yields

5 to 7 dozen cookies depending on size

Ingredients

• 5 ½ cups (660 g) all-purpose flour, (stir, spoon & level for accurate measurement)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (240 g) sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a spacious mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the measured all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk these dry ingredients together to ensure they are evenly distributed, then set this mixture aside for later use.
2. In a separate, large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale in color. This step is crucial for incorporating air and achieving a tender cookie texture. Next, beat in the sour cream, large eggs, and vanilla extract until all ingredients are just combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
3. Gradually add the reserved flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just incorporated. Avoid overmixing, as this can lead to tough cookies. Once the dough comes together, divide it into two equal halves. Place each half onto a piece of plastic wrap, flatten it into a disc, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until thoroughly chilled. Chilling the dough is vital; it prevents the cookies from spreading excessively during baking and helps them maintain their cut-out shapes. (Tip: The dough can be prepared up to this point and refrigerated for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator before rolling.)
4. While the dough chills, preheat your oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. This prevents sticking and ensures even baking, making for easy cleanup. Set the prepared baking sheets aside.
5. Generously flour your work surface and rolling pin. Unwrap one chilled disc of cookie dough and place it on the floured surface, sprinkling a little extra flour on top. Starting from the center and working outwards, roll the dough evenly to approximately ¼-inch thickness. Sprinkle with additional flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface or the rolling pin. Dip your chosen cookie cutter (e.g., high-heel shoe shape) into flour before each cut to ensure clean edges. Carefully transfer the cut-out cookies to your prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between each cookie.
6. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until they are just set and the edges are lightly golden, but before they begin to brown on the bottom. To achieve truly soft cookies, it is imperative not to over-bake them. Once baked, allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. (Tip: Cooled, unfrosted cookies can be stacked in an airtight container and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 2 weeks for future decorating sessions.)

Notes on Royal Icing Techniques

ROYAL ICING Recipe

• 1 cup water
• 6 Tbsp meringue powder
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract (use clear vanilla for pure white icing)
• 2 lb bag of powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar)

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the water and meringue powder. Mix on low speed until fully incorporated and slightly foamy. This initial mixing helps dissolve the meringue powder.
2. Add the vanilla extract (or clear vanilla) and mix for another few seconds to combine.
3. Gradually add the entire 2-pound bag of powdered sugar to the mixture. Begin mixing on low speed until all the sugar is incorporated and no dry pockets remain. Then, increase the speed to high and beat for several minutes. The icing will transform, becoming quite stiff, smooth, and glossy. It should hold stiff peaks and leave distinct ripples in the bowl where the paddle passes through, indicating it’s ready for use.
4. Once prepared, divide the royal icing into separate bowls if you plan to use multiple colors. Thin and color the icing as needed for your decorating purposes.

NOTE: This royal icing recipe yields a very large quantity. For decorating the full batch of cookies from the recipe above, it is recommended to HALF this royal icing recipe unless you plan to decorate an extremely large number of additional cookies.

Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.

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This cookie recipe is inspired by The Yummy Life and re-written here with my personal insights and techniques.

Essential Royal Icing Decorating Tips for Stunning Cookies

Royal icing is a versatile medium, but mastering its application requires a few key techniques. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you achieve beautifully decorated cookies:

• Piping Consistency: Use the royal icing exactly “as-is” from the mixer for detailed piping work, creating fine lines, intricate patterns, borders, or writing. This stiff consistency holds its shape perfectly and provides crisp definitions.
• Coloring Icing: If you plan to use multiple colors, divide the prepared icing into separate bowls. Add gel food coloring gradually, mixing until you achieve your desired shade. Always cover any unused bowls of icing with a damp dish towel. This prevents a crust from forming on the surface, keeping your icing smooth and workable.
• Thinning for Flooding: To achieve a “flood” consistency (thinner icing used to fill in large areas), add water to your icing one teaspoon at a time. Mix thoroughly after each addition until the icing reaches a consistency where a ribbon of icing dropped from a spoon disappears back into the bowl within 10-15 seconds. This is often referred to as a “10-second rule” or “15-second rule” consistency. Be careful not to thin it too much, or it will run off the cookies.
• Tools for Application: For better control and visibility, consider using clear plastic squeeze bottles with small tips instead of traditional pastry bags, especially for flooding. If using pastry bags, secure the open end with a rubber band to prevent icing from drying out or squeezing out the top. To keep the tip from drying and clogging between uses, place the unused pastry bag, tip-down, into a cup with a damp paper towel at the bottom.

Step-by-Step Decorating Process for High-Heel Cookies

For these elegant high-heel shoe cookies, I employed a Wilton #3 round tip, which is versatile for both outlining and basic filling. I prepared my purple and pink icing by coloring and thinning them to a flowable consistency suitable for flooding, ensuring they would spread easily without being so thin that they ran off the edges of the cookies (a small challenge I occasionally faced if I got too close to the perimeter!).

• First, I carefully piped an outline around the edge of each cookie using the desired color (pink or purple).
• Immediately after outlining, I used the same thinned icing to fill in the cookie’s center. For larger areas, I used a zig-zag motion to apply the icing, then gently encouraged it to spread to the edges using a clean finger or the tip of a toothpick. Ideally, for optimal results, you might consider having two separate bags for this step: one with a slightly stiffer icing for the borders and a second with a thinner, flood-consistency icing for filling the center.
• It’s crucial to watch for air bubbles that may form on the surface of the wet icing. Use a clean toothpick to gently pop any bubbles before the icing begins to dry. Working on a few cookies at a time is beneficial to ensure you catch all bubbles before they set.
• Once the base colors (pink and purple) were applied, I allowed them to dry completely for at least an hour. This drying time prevents colors from bleeding into each other when you add subsequent details.
• After the base layer was dry, I used the white royal icing, kept at its original, stiffer consistency (as-is from the mixer), to pipe the intricate white trim and delicate bows. This stiffer consistency is perfect for creating raised details that stand out.

The process itself is quite simple, though decorating a large batch of cookies can be time-consuming. I initially used a toothpick to help spread the icing to fill in any gaps, but I quickly realized that using my clean finger was significantly faster and more efficient for smoothing out the flood icing. After spreading, I returned to using the toothpick to pop any lingering air bubbles, always ensuring this was done before the icing dried.

Reflecting on this batch, my main learning point for next time would be to be less hesitant and prepare the white icing at its stiff consistency specifically for piping the edges, then thin the pink and purple icing just enough so it flows smoothly and fills the cookie without requiring extra spreading from my finger. It’s all part of the baking journey – you live and learn, right? But despite these minor adjustments for future batches, I was incredibly happy with how cute these high-heel cookies turned out. They were a delightful success! Enjoy the fun of decorating and bringing these sweet shoes to life. 🙂