We've added a little Christmas-light flair to this classic holiday treat that fully celebrates the spirit of the festive season. If you prefer gingerbread, check out our Christmas Light Gingerbread Cookies.
- Prep time 1 hour & 15 minutes
- Total time 3 hours & 30 minutes
Ingredients
Royal Icing:
Method
In bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In large bowl, using hand mixer on medium speed, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Stir in flour mixture just until combined. Divide dough in half; shape into discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to scant 1/4-inch thickness. Using 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds, rerolling and cutting scraps as necessary. Arrange, 1 inch apart, on prepared pans.
Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until tops are firm and bottoms are light golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on pan on rack for 2 minutes; transfer directly to rack to cool completely, about 15 minutes.
Royal Icing: Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat meringue powder with water until foamy, about 2 minutes; beat in icing sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until stiff and glossy, about 4 minutes. Remove 1/4 cup of the icing to separate bowl; tint with food colouring as desired, cover and set aside.
Spoon 1/2 cup of the remaining icing into piping bag fitted with small plain tip; pipe outlines around edges of cookies. Squeeze any remaining icing in piping bag back into same large bowl. Stir in more water, 1 tsp at a time, until smooth pourable consistency (about 4 tsp total). Working with 1 cookie at a time, spoon about 1 tsp of the thinned icing onto centre; using toothpick or skewer, spread to piped edge, popping any air bubbles. Repeat with remaining cookies. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Spoon reserved dark green icing into piping bag fitted with very small plain tip; pipe light strings as desired. Arrange chocolate candies on light strings; let stand until set, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Layer between parchment paper in airtight container and store for up to 2 weeks.)
Makes about 28 cookies.
Nutritional facts PER COOKIE: about
- Fibre 0 g
- Sodium 70 mg
- Sugars 14 g
- Protein 1 g
- Calories 141
- Total fat 5 g
- Potassium 16 mg
- Cholesterol 19 mg
- Saturated fat 3 g
- Total carbohydrate 23 g
%RDI
- Iron 4
- Folate 10
- Calcium 1
- Vitamin A 4
