So, McKenzie’s no longer exists, but many of us have fond memories of specific items from the New Orleans bakery. My personal favorite wasn’t as popular as their King Cakes or their turtle cookies — it was their iced sugar cookies. These were BIG sugar cookies cut to a variety of shapes such as Pac-Man, Clovers, Hearts, etc. They were always iced colorfully, too.
So, I had a reason to make some sugar cookies, and I tried to get as close as I could to McKenzie’s. The icing still needs some work, but I think that they used a derivative of royal icing.
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup sugar
- 1/2 Cup butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 1/2 Cup flour
- 1/2 Cup corn starch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
- Cream the butter and the sugar in a mixer
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- Mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Stir to combine
- On slow, mix the dry goods into the wet goods. Take the time to scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Once the dough has formed, chill it in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Roll the dough out, but keep it pretty thick. These cookies aren’t going to rise very much.
- Cut into shapes, place on a very lightly greased cookie sheet.
- Make sure the dough is still chilled before putting it into the oven.
- Bake at 375 for about 10-14 minutes, depending on how thick your cookies are.
- Cool on a rack until room temperature.
Royal Icing Ingredients:
- 1 egg white
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (approximate)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
- This process isn’t a science — Just look at what you’re doing and pay attention to the product.
- Beat the egg white and the lemon juice together until frothy
- Add the vanilla, stir to combine
- Slowly add the powdered sugar, a little bit at a time. You may not need all of it, you might need a little more.
- Mix the powdered sugar in slowly.
- Mix until you can see a ribbon of icing fall from the spoon / mixer, land on the mixer, and remain on the surface of the icing for a couple seconds.
- For a good explanation and details on making this without an uncooked egg white, see Joy of Baking
You need to use royal icing immediately (or keep it very airtight)
You can’t really substitute blended / food processed sugar for powdered sugar in this recipe. You really notice the large sugar crystals.
Hope you enjoy these cookies as much as I do!
