Sugar Cookies

A piping bag makes decorating easy. Watch the Test Kitchen show you how easy it is to make a your own piping bag out of simple parchment paper.

Line rimless baking sheets with parchment paper or grease; set aside.

In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into butter mixture in 3 additions. Divide in half; flatten into discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)

On lightly floured surface, roll out each disc to 1/4-inch (5 mm) thickness. Using cookie cutters or knife, cut out four 4-inch (10 cm) doves; eight 1-inch (2.5 cm) hearts; eight 2-inch (5 cm) hearts; two 2-1/2-inch (6 cm) circles with 1-1/4-inch (3 cm) circle cut out of middle; and two 1-inch (2.5 cm) tall diamonds. With remaining dough, cut out more cookies as desired. Place, 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart, on prepared pans.

Bake in top and bottom thirds of 350°F (180°C) oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, until light golden on bottoms and edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to racks; let cool completely. (Make-ahead: Store in airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month).

Tint 1/4 cup (50 mL) Royal Icing light purple and 1/4 cup (50 mL) medium purple. Using small brush or palette knife, paint cookies desired colours. While wet, stick on drag?. Dip white icing into coarse sugar. Let dry on rack, about 4 hours.