Holiday Present and Star Shortbread Cookies
All wrapped for giving.
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Recipe Summary
This Christmas, the best gift of all won't be found under the tree. We'll give you a hint: Check the cookie platter waiting for Santa by the fireplace. These Holiday Present and Star Shortbread Cookies are just about as charming as it gets.
No need to buy any intricate cookie cutters. These cookies use the standard shapes of a square and a star to create simple, highly-effective holiday designs. An elegant color palette of white and gold makes these cookies appropriate for any holiday celebration. We use these holiday shortbread cookies to decorate our 2021 White Cake, which features a pretty Christmas tree made of icing. This cookie is just the star on top (no pun intended).
If you've never tried your hand at holiday cookie decorating, this recipe is a great place to start. A simple shortbread cookie provides a blank canvas for classic royal icing, which we use to decorate these cookies. Once you get the hang of flooding and piping, you'll be cranking out cookies by the dozen. Find our complete guide to cookie decorating here.
Ingredients
Directions
How To Decorate the Cookies
1. Spoon royal icing colors into separate piping bags fitted with small round tips (such as Wilton #2 or #3), or cut a small corner from bottom of each bag. Pipe an outline of icing onto all cookies, and fill in outlines with icing.
2. Immediately sprinkle stars with gold or white sanding sugar. Let squares and rectangles stand until surfaces are set, about 30 minutes.
3. Pipe remaining icing as desired to decorate squares and rectangles to look like presents. Let all cookies stand until completely set, about 2 hours.