Little Lamb Cookies

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Photo: Tara Donne
Prep Time:
1 hrs 20 mins
Total Time:
3 hrs 30 mins
Yield:
20

Mary had a little lamb whose icing was as white as snow (or pink, if you prefer) thanks to a sprinkling of sanding sugar.

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • Coarse salt

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

  • 2 cups granulated sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For Decorating the Cookies:

Directions

  1. Make the cookies: Sift flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a large bowl.

  2. Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, then vanilla. Refrigerate dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour.

  3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies using a 5-inch lamb cookie cutter, rerolling scraps once. Transfer to a baking sheet, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Bake until edges just start to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack, and let cool completely.

  4. Decorate the cookies: Transfer icing to a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe an outline of icing around the edges, then "flood" each cookie with more icing to cover. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Let cookies dry completely before tying a pink or blue ribbon around each lamb's neck if desired.

Cook's Notes

Cookie dough can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw before using.

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