Annual Turkey Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Extra flour for cutting cookies

For the royal icing:

3 ounces pasteurized egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups confectioner's sugar

Sprinkles

Food coloring of choice, I used pink, brown, yellow, red, and orange

Directions:

For the cookies:

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2) Put the butter and sugar in 1 of the large bowls. Using the mixer, beat on low speed for 1 minute. Turn up the speed to medium and beat for another minute. The mixture should be blended and smooth. Turn off the mixer. Using the silicone spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low speed until well blended. Turn off the mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3) Put the flour and salt into 1 of the medium bowls and whisk until blended. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until the ingredients are blended and no patches of flour are visible. Dough will be very soft. Scrape down the bowl one last time, and make sure no clumps of flour are hiding in the bottom. Dump the clumps of dough onto your work surface, and squeeze them together until they form a cohesive dough. Flatten the dough into a 9-inch circle, wrap in plastic or parchment, and chill for 30 minutes before continuing.

4) Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness, and cut out desired shapes.

5) Place 1 baking sheet on each oven rack. Bake for 8 minutes, then switch the pans between the oven racks. Bake for another 5 to 9 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown around the edges and lightly golden in the center. Using the oven mitts, transfer the pans to the cooling racks and let the cookies cool completely before decorating. You may need to reuse the pans to finish baking all the cookies. Let the pans cool before you put more dough on them for baking.

For the royal icing:

1) In large bowl of stand mixer combine the egg whites and vanilla and beat until frothy. Add confectioners' sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes.

2) Add food coloring, if desired. Spoon into piping or zip-lock bags and decorate the cookies with the icing and sprinkles.

The cookie recipe is my go-to, from Cindy Mushet. The royal icing is Alton Brown, my all time favorite. Recipe steps were adapted slightly.