We actually have 2 bridal showers near each other this month so I've included pictures from both. I have a coworker who had a bridal shower and I've always thought these cookies were funny so I felt like it was worth giving them a try. This is my first real attempt at royal icing, not too bad for a first go I think.
Sorry about the pictures, it's turning them when they load and not letting me correct them.
Bra and Panty Cookies (B&P)
Ingredients:
Cookies
1c sugar
1c butter, softened
2oz cream cheese, softened
1/2tsp vanilla extract
1/2tsp almond extract (substituted raspberry extract for the second batch)
1tsp lemon zest
1 egg
1 1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
3c flour
(nozzled squirt bottles for icing, ziploc bags, toothpicks)
Royal Icing
3tbs meringue powder (I found it in the wedding cake section of Walmart or Hobby Lobby)
4c confectioner's sugar
1-2tsp clear extract (I used vanilla)
1/3c warm water
food coloring (gel can get a darker color without watering down the icing)
Directions:
1. Cream butter, sugar, cream cheese, and extracts until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest and egg. Then mix in baking powder, salt, and flour on low.
2. Divide dough in half and refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling out (refrigerates well overnight).
3. Roll out on floured surface to 1/4in thick and cut out heart shape (I used 3 different size hearts),cut off point of the heart, and place on cookie sheet.
4. Bake @350F for 8-12min or until edges just start to turn golden.
5. For icing, combine meringue powder, confectioner's sugar, and extract then slowly add water until the right consistency is reached. The detailing icing should be soft and pipable but hold it's shape. Once the icing is the right consistency remove 1/3 and save on the side in a bowl covered with a wet paper towel.
6. Add water to the remainder of the icing until it's the right consistency for flooding (drops smooth out in 10seconds).
7. Separate both types of icing out to add the appropriate colors. Cover the bowls you aren't working on with a damp paper towel to keep them from drying out.
8. Once all your icing is ready and your cookies are cool you can start decorating. I put the piping icing into ziploc bags and the flooding into nozzled bottles (like ketchup bottles). Pipe on your borders and then fill with flooding color and spread out with a tooth pick.
9. Allow cookies to dry for at least 4 hours before packing up (overnight is even better).
Yield 3 dozen
Notes:
-I used almond extract for the first batch but the second set of colors called for "raspberry" (NOT pink) and I thought it would be cool to try raspberry flavoring instead of the almond. The switched worked beautifully, so glad I tried it.
-I did the first batch all at once which took probably 4 hours total. The second batch I split up over several days so all I had to do the night before was decorate. Both worked so it just depends on your schedule and how much help you have.
-Cookies bake more evenly if you use the same shape and size
-You can run unflavored floss under the rolled out dough before cutting the cookie shape to reducing sticking and make them easier to move onto the baking sheet.
-I try to always bake cookies on parchment paper, no sticking and easy clean up
-I used different size heart cutters so I could mix and match sizes
The Verdict:
I love this cookie recipe. Definitely keeping it as my go to cut-out cookie because it's the perfect texture and it's easy to edit.
Original Recipes from:
Cookies-
The Kitchn (I used the small batch)
Icing-
The Shiksa in the Kitchen
