Cookie Craft

just look at this they are so cute~

This was one of the earliest cookies i've made...

And then i got lazy and sleepy...

Last night i made sugar cookies. been wanting to make those for quite some time now but never really got into it *ponder for awhile* wait a minute i think i've made those once but it was butt ugly. I hate royal icing. and i think its the most difficult icing to use *argh, roll eyes* there was consistency, the piping, the mega mess...hmmm~ not really my cuppa tea

But i was recipe surfing then i stumbled upon this site where this lady sells what she calls 'novelty cookies' which is to me sugar cookies but they were really pretty and cute and very crafty too (i love crafty stuff) then it got me excited as i thought that i might be able to do it too...maybe better and i thought WRONG :( i have totally forgotten why i didn't bake sugar cookies in the first place.
The royal icing really frustrates me BIG time! its too runny and i've been adding more and more sugar until i had actually i thought "this can't be right" then i search the net for answers (and this was like 12am) then i found out that what i did was right so i proceed but still i can't make any "clean" designs (if you look closely in the pictures you'll see smudges and leaks argh~) non the less it turned out cute enough. I've made a funny man design, elmo and candy designs...i finished decorating at about 2:26am. yeah my eyes are barely open, but its the only time that i can make such decorative cookies or cakes for that matter other wise i'll be interrupted every time by my children and ended up not finishing what i'm doing. Anyway it was all worth it when my son woke up this morning and saw the beautifully *ahem; clears throat* decorated lollipop like cookies. He smiles and asked me "did you made this for me? wow these are great"(translation: mommy buat ni untuk daniel ke? wow cantiknya) he took all the cookies to school to share it with his new friends...

anyway...the cookies are great but its not as hard??crispy perhaps...how do i put this...erm its slightly soft i suppose its because of the less sugar...perhaps i should try and add more sugar next time and see how's the texture like...

Here's the recipe:
3c flour
11/2tsp baking powder
1c butter
1/2c sugar (maybe you should try 1c or more, i only use 1/2c coz i thought that the cookies will be too sweet for my liking especially when its decorated with icings)
1 egg
1tsp orange zest
1tsp vanilla essence
1tsp salt

1. cream butter and sugar then add in the egg mix well.
2. mean while in a differect bowl mix in flour, salt, baking powder and sift it.
   
3. then add in the zest and essence in the butter mixture.
4. then addin flour mixture into the butter mixture.
5. mix well then chill the dough fro 1 hour before rolling.

Royal Icing
3 3/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
3 tbsp meringue powder or 3 egg whites
6 T warm water - to be added for flow icing

mix all well by hand adjust consistancy by adding the sugar for desired thickness or adding warm water for the desired thiness. then just add in your flavorings and colorings as desired.

oh you have to excuse this one, by the time i got to this one i was REALLY REALLY tired and sleepy...for haven sake i couldn't barely open my eyes! so i just simply sprinkle hundreds and thousands and colored sugar crystals.