Paint Your Own Cookie
I’m all for keeping the classic Easter egg dyeing tradition alive, but if you're looking to shake things up, these paint-your-own cookies will become a new favorite! Made with a chewy, grain-free sugar cookie base and topped with a smooth layer of royal icing, they’re as fun to decorate as they are to eat!
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 200 grams dairy free butter
- 200 grams granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
- 240 grams almond flour
- 160 grams tapioca flour
- 1.5 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For the royal icing:
- 240 grams powdered sugar
- 1.5 tablespoon meringue powder
- 4 tablespoon water
Instructions
- First, let's make the cookies. Using a fork, or in a mixer on low speed, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Then add in the vanilla extract and mix again.
- Next, add in all of the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together and is holding its shape.
- Line a freezer safe cookie sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle on some tapioca powder to the center. Turn out the dough onto the parchment paper and sprinkle on a tad more tapioca flour to the top. Press down slightly into a disk shape.
- Place in the freezer for about 10 minutes, then remove. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough and gently roll it out until the dough is evenly about ½ to ¾ cm thick. I am for ¾ cm thick. When in doubt, err on the side of being thicker than not. Thin sugar cookies are sad and difficult to maneuver-enter the tricky part that people talk about. Their sugar cookies are probably too thin!
- Cut out your desired shape of cookies and place them on a separate parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Place your cutout cookies in the oven and bake for about 10 min until JUST slightly starting to lightly brown. For larger cookies, you may need to add a minute or two. Light sugar cookies= the best sugar cookies. You do not want your sugar cookies to “brown” or they lose the desirable chewy texture.
- Roll up the scraps, pat into a disk again and place back in the freezer for a few minutes. Repeat as necessary until all the dough is used. Allow the cookies to cool completely before moving on to frosting them.
- Now, to make the royal icing. Add the powdered sugar and meringue powder to a mixer. Mix well, then on medium-high speed, add in the water and mix until the consistency that the icing melts back into the bowl of icing within about 5 seconds. If it’s too thick, add more water in small increments. If it’s too thin and melts in too quickly, keep mixing to incorporate more air, or add in a little more powdered sugar. If you're a beginner like me, I would err on the side of the icing being thicker as it is a bit easier to control.
- Once the royal icing is the correct consistency, add to a piping bag with a small circle piping tip, or a squeeze bottle. I prefer a squeeze bottle, as it is easier to control and is the easiest option for a beginner decorator.
- First, pipe an outline all around your cookie. Then fill in the center of the cookie with royal icing, and using a toothpick, evenly spread the icing to the edges. You want to work fairly quickly, as royal icing sets up quickly. You can also use the toothpick to pop any air bubbles that might exist. Allow the icing to harden completely before moving on to decorate. You can allow them to air dry, or place in the refrigerator.
- Once the royal icing is completely set, you can now decorate!