Valentine’s Sugar Cookies with Poured Royal Icing

Valentine’s Sugar Cookies ~ Love beautiful sugar like I do, but you don’t have time to get elbow deep with pastry bags, tips and piping for some decorated Valentine’s sugar cookies? Let’s chat. . . .

Guess what? I found a happy solution. Skip the damming, the flooding and making two bowls of icing for each consistency.  I found my new thrill in poured royal icing. It’s nothing more than royal icing thinned down to a pouring consistency. It’s about two steps thinner than flooding consistency.

If you haven’t guessed, I love everything from pretty food to food truck grub. What I don’t love is being strapped for time. Every year I always have these grand Valentine’s baking plans and then I realize-uh, really!

Febuary is my busiest month, I have two big birthdays to plan for and this year I’m planning a big 40^th for the hubs and a 4 year-old Batman galore birthday party.  That is, between my family life, working and blogging and trying to keep my sanity.

I know-I’m such a WHINER!  Self slapping administered.

Okay, back to what matters: the cookies! As I was saying, this is a great solution for those of us who don’t have time and still want to make some fun Valentine’s cookies.

I left most of mine plain because I tend to like more minimal designs, but you can easily dress this up with some decorative sugars and sprinkles, paint on some designs with luster dust or finish with a simple drizzle of chocolate on top.

A few notes:

• The royal icing base I used is from cake and cookie extraordinaire, Amanda at iambaker.com. Click here for the recipe and click here to see her fabulous Valentine’s sugar cookies. I know I’m going link crazy here, but you have to see two of my favorite Valentine’s cakes  here and here—trust me you won’t be sorry! 
• The royal icing can be made 3 days in advance. Make sure to store it properly if you do make it in advance. If you use a container, place plastic wrap directly on the surface before placing the lid on top. I personally, tend to use Ziploc baggies and press the bag onto the surface of the icing and then  seal it. This way I just have to cut a hole the corner to squeeze it into either a pastry bag, or in this case, a bowl.
• Pouring consistency should resemble whipping cream not heavy whipping cream. As an added measure, keep a bowl of uncolored royal icing aside in case you need to add it to your mix if you have over thinned the icing.
• For another pouring type of decorating click here to see how to work with Poured Buttercream.

Valentine’s Sugar Cookies with Poured Royal Icing

• Click here for my sugar cookie recipe.
• Click here for the royal icing base from I Am Baker. To thin the royal icing add milk one teaspoon at a time and mixt to combine (just remember it’s much easier to thin than to thicken). 
• To assemble, place cookies on a cooling rack and a bakesheet underneath to catch excess icing. Pour royal icing on top and leave to dry. Finish as preferred.