These cute footprint-shaped cookies are a hit for Earth Day or any day! They're a sweet way to help spread the word about reducing your carbon footprint. Package the cookies in brown craft paper, then tie a green ribbon around them and attach the Ten Easy Tips for being Green When you Bake.
Ingredients:
1 cup - Domino® Certified CarbonFree® Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup - butter or margarine, softened
1 - egg
1 teaspoon - grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon - vanilla
1/4 teaspoon - lemon extract
3 cups - all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon - baking powder
1/2 teaspoon - salt
Royal Icing (recipe below)
Instructions:
Cream sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg, lemon peel, vanilla and lemon extract; mix well. Add flour, baking powder and salt, beating at low speed until well mixed. Refrigerate dough 1 hour until chilled.
Heat oven to 350°F. On well-floured surface, roll out half of dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters; place on ungreased cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining half of dough. Bake at 350°F for 9 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned at edges. Remove from oven to rack to cool before decorating with royal icing.
Royal Icing Recipe:
2 cups - Domino® Confectioners Sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons - meringue powder
3 tablespoons - warm water
Green food coloring
In a bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and warm water until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Tint icing with a few drops of green food coloring. Use a thicker icing (about the consistency of toothpaste) to first pipe a thin outline of the footprint design on each cookie. Add a couple drops of water at a time to the remaining icing so that the consistency is thinner. Once the outline icing is set, use a pastry bag with a thin decorator tip to fill in the design.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups.