Note to Self….Do not have bronchitis and try to decorate cookies
Every time I went to pipe, I coughed and frosting went everywhere. End result, very sloppy cookies. Part of it too is the frosting I use. Royal icing is great for decorating cookies. Unfortunately, I don’t like how it tastes. It’s like wedding cake….fondant is pretty but butter cream is yummy. I’ll take yummy over pretty any day. This is a great tasting cookie. These ones tend to stay a little soft so they are sometimes hard to decorate due to breakage.
This is a short post since I am pretty wiped out and WAY under the weather. But here is cookie # 3 for my cookie exchange. Sadly, the cookies were really made to cheer my dog up after her surgery….she is obsessed with sugar cookies, but they work great for Christmas cookies too. 
Sugar Cookie Dough
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
3 cups flour
pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a sheet pan well and set aside.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat on high-speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg and vanilla extract, and mix well. Add the cream of tarter, flour, and salt, and mix on low speed until all of the ingredients are incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth.
Remove the dough from the mixer and form into a ball. If it is too soft to handle, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate untl it firms up a bit. On a well-floured board, roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters of your choice. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie cutter. Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a rack or paper towels and let cool completely. Frost and decorate the cookie after they have cooled.
Source: Adapted from Caprial’s Desserts by Caprial Pence and Melissa Carey 2001
November 15th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
Such a cute piggy!!
November 15th, 2006 at 8:38 pm
I LOVE the pig design! I am president of Pediatric Interest Group at school (PIG!) and this would be so much fun to have at our fundraiser in the spring. Is this one LARGE cookie (like a cookie cake) or is it two smaller cookies? Hope you feel better.
November 15th, 2006 at 10:08 pm
Claire- it’s about the size of a large grapfruit. It is two parts, the body and the head. I bought my pig and I got a sheep too from the King Arthur’s Baker Catalouge.
November 15th, 2006 at 10:18 pm
So cute, Peabody!
Can I have your royal icing recipe? I love it (even the way it tastes!), but it’s always too runny to pipe. It actually dribbles out of the piping bag, which leads me to believe I’ve added too much water?
I’d love to see your recipe!
November 16th, 2006 at 12:11 am
Aly- this is a pretty stiff one that I use when I make gingerbread houses
3 TBSP meringue powder mixed with 6 TBSP warm water
pinch of cream of tarter
1 lb of powdered sugar
Place all ingredients in very clean mixing bowl. Turn machine on, and with whisk attachment, combine on low speed. Increase speed to high and whip until mixture is stiff, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from mixer.
Remove 3/4 of the mixture to another bowl and cover bowl with a damp towel until you are ready to use icing, or icing will dry and a crust will form.
November 16th, 2006 at 2:14 am
cute! hope you are feeling better soon!
November 16th, 2006 at 3:39 am
Love the piggie!
Bronchitis doesn’t usually go with much except chicken soup. Hope you feel better soooon.
November 16th, 2006 at 4:35 am
Way too cute - lucky doggy! Hope you feel better soon!
November 16th, 2006 at 4:39 am
Hope all dogs and peoples are better soon. My dog had her knee moved yesterday … yikes, 8 weeks in confinement ahead.
November 16th, 2006 at 7:58 am
You are too funny! Sorry to hear you’re still feeling icky, but I love how these cookies turned out.
November 16th, 2006 at 8:28 am
Very cute cookie.
I hope you feel better soon. Wish I could run you up some chicken soup! What kind of surgery did your doggie have? Here’s a speedy recovery to her too!
*hugs*
November 16th, 2006 at 10:59 am
That is one of the cutest things I have EVER seen. (And I agree with you about yummy over pretty. I refused to have fondant on my wedding cake because, well, ICK.)
November 16th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
Hey - they’re still pretty charming. Hope you feel better soon.
November 16th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
I just love your site. The Piggy cookies look and sound good. I am surprised that you didn’t have Sour Cream in the ingredients.
Hope you feel better.
Thanks,
Robin
November 16th, 2006 at 2:07 pm
the pig looks happy, though!
November 16th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
Sorry you’re sick! What a great cookie!
November 16th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
Very cute! Hope everybody feels better. I love that pink frosting!
November 16th, 2006 at 8:24 pm
Those are adorable! I love pigs, especially in cookie form.
November 17th, 2006 at 5:30 am
Hope you feel better soon! Still very cute pigs
November 17th, 2006 at 8:27 am
I love that cookie! It is adorable
Hope you are feeling better! 
November 17th, 2006 at 6:56 pm
That cookie is about the size of my dog!
Those cookies look great….I’m with you on the taste of Royal Icing. Taste conquers appearance, but I must say these LOOK awesome.
November 17th, 2006 at 11:03 pm
Oh Peabody!! If I could ice cookies half as well when I am not sick I would be thrilled. Just darling.