Festive Honey Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

Cookie

• 2.5 cups premium flour + extra for work
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 220 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 0.5 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze

• 2 tbsp. dry egg white
• 450 g of powdered sugar
• 5-6 tablespoons of water

Preparation:

1. Bake some cookiesIn a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the honey, egg, and vanilla extract. Reduce mixer speed to low; beat in the flour mixture.
2. Divide the dough in half and form each piece into a disk; wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
3. Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 disk of dough at a time, dust the dough with flour and roll it out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 1/4 inch (0.3 cm).
4. Using 7 cm cookie cutters, cut out shapes from the dough. Place them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2.5 cm apart. Gather the dough scraps, roll them out, and cut out more shapes. If the dough is too soft to work with, refrigerate it to firm up.
5. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the cookies are lightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze.In a large bowl, combine the powdered sugar and dry egg whites. Using a mixer on medium speed, whisk in 5 tablespoons of water and beat until soft, glossy peaks form. Add up to 1 tablespoon more water if the icing is too thick. Spread the icing on the cookies or pipe it using a pastry bag.