Lana's Star Wars Birthday Cookies!

This week has been full of birthday baking fun! Yesterday was Lana Dow's big 25, and there really isn't any better way to celebrate a quarter century than by pretending we are all 5 again. Sooo I decided to make these awesome Star Wars Millenium Falcon and TIE Fighter sugar cookies with decorative royal icing. 

A few months ago, my friend Kim posted a great sugar cookie recipe on her blog. I was lucky enough to try the tasty treats, and they were fabulous! When making delicate shaped cookies, it's important to have a cookie that doesn't spread out and lose definition. And I've heard royal icing can be a pain, so I wanted a recipe that was easy for a beginner.

Since the recipes for the cookie base and royal icing were based off of Alton Brown recipes, which I knew would be perfect for me to try. This was also another great way to see my KitchenAid whisk, paddle attachment, and pour shield in action.

You can see my assistant, TK-421, in the corner there.

Now what to do for cookie cutters? Specialty stores like Wiliams-Sonoma sell intricate cutters, but it is not necessary to go out and purchase them. I actually used these awesome sandwich cutters that Will had (which also happen to be from WS).

However, you can also use regular cookie cutter shapes to make your own star wars characters! Here is an example, courtesy of The Sweet Adventures of SugarBelle.

Cookie Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup fine granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
confectioner's sugar (for rolling out the dough)

Royal Icing Ingredients:
3 ounces pasteurized egg whites (can buy pasteurized eggs or premixed egg whites)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioner's sugar
food coloring
candy or sprinkles (if desired)

            left: cookie ingredients                                                       right: royal icing ingredients

Directions:
In a medium size bowl, sift the flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside. Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until it is light in color.

Add milk, egg, and vanilla; beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and beat until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. note: for the first time i tried using my pour shield--it's pretty cool!

Divide the dough in half, wrap each part in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

While the dough is chilling, start on the royal icing.

Use the whisk attachment of your stand mixer to combine the egg whites and vanilla. Beat until the mixture is frothy. With the mixer on low, gradually add the confectioner's sugar until it is fully incorporated and the mixture is shiny. note: I had to stop the mixer often and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Turn the mixer speed to high and beat until the icing forms stiff and glossy peaks, approx 5-7 minutes.

Add this point you can add your food coloring. I divided mine up in to bowls to make 3 different colors. I kept some white to use in the pastry bag for details. Set aside in a cool place until it is time to decorate.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease your baking sheets or lay down parchment paper.

Sprinkle confectioner's sugar on the surface where you'll be rolling out the dough. In order to keep the dough cold for rolling, take out one pack out of the fridge at a time (and make sure to put back the scraps for later!)

Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Make sure the dough is not sticking, adding confectioner's sugar as needed. Use your cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Use a spatula to move the cookies on to the baking sheet while the cutter is still attached. note: this stops the dough from getting stretched out or too warm.

TK-421 was very helpful at this juncture.

Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes, or until they are beginning to brown around the edges. This batch made about 24 large Star Wars cookies.

 Let cookies cool completely before decorating with royal icing. I suggest watching this video.

Use your loaded pastry bag with a small nozzle to outline the cookies. This icing should be a thicker consistency than the colored icings you will be using later. Let it set for at least 10 minutes before moving on the next step. 

Next, take your solid color icing and add to the cookie (note: I just used a spoon and knife for these steps). Water down your icing a bit to give it a thinner consistency. This step is "flooding" the cookie. 

I was surprised at how easy this step was. The guidelines you piped on earlier make it really easy to flood the cookie and get a nice even layer of icing. Let set for another 10 minutes before moving on.

You can refill your pastry bag with whatever colors you want to decorate. I kept mine to a simple palette (also, lovely color theory practice!).

Voila! You can stage your own epic battle in a galaxy far far away. Or just enjoy them with some equally excited friends.

Happy Snacking!

Antonia