These will be included in our July Food'N'Flix event, so you can read why I've gone down the JAWS rabbit hole soon. But I wanted to make some shark-inspired sugar cookies to start. This is my go-to recipe for sugar cookies with just a little bit of vanilla and cardamom to keep them from being too plain; and the icing has just the right amount of tartness with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
If you don't have ground cardamom, you can substitute ground cinnamon or leave it out completely. It will be just as delicious. Also, I used vanilla paste in this cookie; feel free to use vanilla extract if that's all you have. I just love the flecks of the vanilla seeds in this light-colored cookie.
Ingredients
Vanilla-Cardamom Sugar Cookies
- 2-3/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup organic granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste or extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- Also needed: shark cookie cutters*
Royal Icing (you can watch my Royal Icing on #CulinaryCam)
- 3 egg whites, or more to thin icing
- 6 cups organic powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 t pure vanilla extract
To Finish
- food dye or coloring gel as needed
Procedure
Vanilla-Cardamom Sugar Cookies
Sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside in a bowl.
Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and ground cardamom. Mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, until completely combined.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill dough for 1 to 2 hours. Roll out between two pieces of parchment paper.
Preheat over to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Shape dough with your cutters, using flour to keep them from sticking. Place on a silicone mat-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up.
Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 9-11 minutes, depending on size of cookies. Cool completely on wire racks. Make the royal icing while the cookies cool.
Beat the whites until stiff but not dry. Add sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Beat for another minute. If the icing is too thick, add more egg whites; if it's too thin, add more sugar. Dye whatever color or colors you want; I set aside some of the white before adding black gel to make a light grey for this batch.
To Finish
Smooth the colored royal icing over cooled cookies. I added a smear of white for the countershading on the shark. Add details. Let set before serving.
*This blog currently has a partnership with Amazon.com in their affiliate program, which gives me a small percentage of sales if you buy a product through a link on my blog. It doesn't cost you anything more. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to go directly to Amazon.com and search for the item of your choice.
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