Seahawk Cookies

I'm not that into American football but I'll tell you what, I LOVE how sports teams can get an entire city/country/group of people hyped up. And that's exactly what happened last weekend when the Seahawks beat the Saints. To honor their surprise win I decided to make some sugar cookies with Seahawk coloured icing. I've been wanting to try out royal icing for a couple of months now but have been daunted by the many "royal icing tutorials" that I've seen on several blogs. I figure, anything with a tutorial is complicated.

Lies. Royal icing is not. You need quite a bit of time on your hands to let the icing dry during each stage, but it's definitely a lot of fun to work with especially if you have the time. The smooth glossy finish and the details you're able to do with royal icing is impressive. I ended up making footballs, a little football player, and 12th man flags (a flag that represents the Seahawk fan base - so loud and proud that a seismograph picked up last week's crowd's cheers during a touchdown).

I spent most of last week Friday making these cookies- mostly with a beer in one hand and an icing squeeze bottle in the other while listening to some Otis Redding. It was perfect. 

The Seahawks put up a shit show against the Chicago Bears on Sunday but I do have a couple of cookies left to drown my sorrows in. I know there are tons of sugar cookie recipes online, but this is definitely my favourite.

Sugar Cookies

Courtesy of Melissa Frye (who is not on the blogosphere, but very well should be)

3/4 cup shortening (part butter or margarine, softened)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Mix thoroughly shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Blend in flour,  baking powder, and salt.  Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Roll dough 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured board or countertop.  Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters or free-hand.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 6-8 minutes or until slightly browned.  Cool completely and decorate as desired.

For the royal icing, I used a mix. I cringe when I say that because it feels like cheating but it was cheaper than the meringue powder...aah, there are no excuses. But for a first timer, it worked and it tasted delicious, I should embrace that.